The Three Children From the End of Days
by 7thManiac
Summary: After living through Third Impact and the near extinction of humanity the three young Evangelion pilots want to start a new life. So Rei uses the god-like power of Lilith to transport them to a new world with new younger bodies. Now they can enjoy their new lives, make new friends, and become Shinobi so they can have the power to be in control of their own destinies. M for violence
1. Volume 1: Prologue

**Prologue: The Three Children from the End of Days.**

 **Konoha**

Walking through the compound of the Sarutobi clan the son of the Sandaime Hokage, Asuma Sarutobi was making his way to one of the buildings closer to the outer edge of the compound. Who was he looking for you may ask? He was looking for his adopted little brother of course.

Thinking back to when he found him several months back he wondered if his brother, and the two others he was found with were meant for great things?

Considering those three were around the same age as the youngest children of many of Konoha's clans and the Jinchuriki of the Kyubi he came to a conclusion, it will be interesting when they all grow old enough to attend the academy.

' _I wonder if I should try to be a Jonin-sensei for their year?'_ he mused.

 **HHHHHHH**

 ***Flashback to 6 Months Ago***

"Hokage-sama!" a man shouted as he burst into the office of the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Who was also having a heated argument with his son at the time, and was now shooting all his irritation at the poor shinobi that came bursting in. Needless to say the man was scared stiff but after several seconds his training kicked in when he remembered _why_ he burst into the office in the first place.

"I have urgent news hokage-sama," he said.

"Report," replied the hokage, having now calmed down. His son, Asuma, decided to stick around as this seemed important.

"Some merchants that just arrived reported a loud sound and a bright flash of light around a 15 minute horse ride away from the village, they said it sounded like an explosion," he quickly reported.

"Hm," Hiruzen grunted in response as he contemplated the issue. While it had been around four years since the attack of the Kyubi, the damage was extensive and while the business and residential areas have been fully repaired the village's defenses and military buildings were still not fully repaired.

' _Is this an attack? But why would they wait so long after the Kyubi's attack? Why let us build strength? No, this isn't an attack but it should be investigated,'_ he decided.

After motioning for the intruding shinobi to leave he motioned for the four men and women he knew were hiding in the shadows of his office. They were from Konoha's ANBU corps and they were not just any ANBU operatives either; they were Team Ro, his own personal team and the best of the best.

"Orders, Hokage-sama?" asked Dog, that wasn't his real name of course, all ANBU operatives' identities are classified secrets and are never referred to by their real names while wearing their iconic and feared porcelain animal masks that matches their codename. Dog is the current leader of Team Ro, he wore the standard Konoha ANBU uniform of black shinobi pants, sleeveless black shirt, grey flak jacket with a ninjato strapped to the back, black elbow length gloves with grey forearm guards and black sandals. Dog also has white spiky hair, differentiating him from the rest of the team.

"Dog take Cat and get the location of the presumed explosion from the merchant and scout the area immediately. Act in whatever way you deem appropriate once you arrive there, I will send reinforcements," ordered the Hokage and Dog and Cat, a female with long violet hair wearing a cat mask in standard ANBU uniform and a katana instead of a ninjato, body flickered out of the office.

"Asuma," said the Hokage as he turned to his son, "we will continue this discussion later, take your team and get them prepared, and briefed. I want you following after them ASAP."

"Of course, Hokage-sama," his son replied as he too body flickered out of the office. The room empty, aside from the rest of Team Ro who have already blended back into the shadows. The Hokage let out a weary sigh, sometime he really felt like he was getting too old for his job.

 ***Flashback End***

 **HHHHHHH**

Thinking back to what he found he couldn't help but wonder how those three children ended up in the middle of a crater in the middle of the forest.

' _Well at least they were safe,'_ he thought to himself.

As he reached the building he was walking to he gave the pair of ANBU guards a quick nod and they opened the door for him. The building he entered was a medium sized house in the Sarutobi clan's compound; it had two floors with the bedrooms on the second floor and a relatively large yard. As he stepped inside he decided to announce his entry, his little brother was a polite kid and he was always sure to return the favor.

"Excuse the intrusion, it's Asuma!" He called out. He knew everyone inside knew that someone entered the moment he stepped foot into the entry way, the kids inside are surprisingly sharp and their ANBU security are obviously no slouches.

Walking into the living room he couldn't help but smile at the site of the three four year old kids inside.

He could see why the female ANBU operatives tended to volunteer for positions in their security detail, the three kids tended to end up in adorable positions when relaxing together.

The first was sitting on the floor and leaning against the sofa was his brown haired blue eyed adopted little brother, Shinji Ikari Sarutobi, wearing a purple shirt and green pajamas with a pair of earphones on his head as he enjoyed his music with his eyes closed. On his right and leaning on him with her head on his shoulder was a girl with pale skin, bright red eyes and light blue shoulder length hair and wearing a white shirt and blue pajamas while reading a book, the quiet Rei Ayanimi. The last one was on Shinji's left and also leaning on him with her head on his shoulder, she had flawless light skin with long fiery orange hair that reached halfway down her back and sporting a bright red dress while lazily watching TV, the usually loud Asuka Langley Soryu.

As he walked in the two girls noticed him as Asuka gave him a smile and a wave while Rei, her usual stoic self, looked up from her book to look at him and went back to reading. He gave couldn't help shaking his head in amusement at the blue haired girl's behavior as he waved at the kids, he knew she wasn't being rude. He wasn't offended by Shinji seemingly ignoring him either, the kid loved his music and he tended to tune everyone but his two female companions out when he really got into it.

He'd really gotten to know the three in the several months they've lived together (well in the same compound, not house) ever since his father decided to adopt Shinji after they were recovered from the wilderness all those months ago. For one he knew they were extremely close, when Dog and Cat found them Rei was exhausted for some reason and when confronted by two ANBU the other two children stepped in front to defend her.

That impressed Dog and Cat a lot, the only fear they said they saw in those children's eyes were out of concern for their companion. Hell they've been inseparable ever since, it was joked that they only needed one ANBU bodyguard to follow them because of that.

Of course that wasn't the case, the kids were young and obviously of interest to the Hokage and with Konoha still rebuilding from the Kyubi they were vulnerable. As a result each had an ANBU bodyguard whenever they left the house.

Second they didn't know how they got there exactly, or so they said.

Third they did not like talking about their past. All they got was that all three were orphans and from the look of abject horror on their faces, well Shinji and Asuka's faces, as they were recalling their past...well nobody decided to press the kids.

Fourth, and most amusing to the females who've met the three, was that the two girls obviously had feelings for the boy. He couldn't help but chuckle when he remembered after his old man had offered to adopt the three Shinji had happily jumped at the chance while Asuka, as red as her current dress, declined as she pointed out she wouldn't be able to do ' _certain things'_ in the future while steeling glances at Shinji, Rei just nodded at her statement.

Fifth was that they were independent kids, case-in-point the fact that they live in their own house in the clan compound.

As he walked in and laid down on the empty couch, gently as to not disturb the kid's in their comfortable position, he decided to just waste some hours and enjoy some TV with the kids. As he relaxed he looked around the room and frowned.

The living room was a _mess_.

His mom is gonna kill him.

He really wished he hadn't agreed to check up on the kids whenever his mom or old man are too busy, Asuka seemed to really enjoy seeing him get a verbal lashing whenever his mother blamed any negative behavior the kids showed on him. As he looked around the room he noticed something.

' _It's all shinobi related,'_ he thought to himself. And it was true, the reason the room was messy was because of all the shinobi related things lying around. Scrolls and books on the basics of ninjutsu, taijutsu, kenjutsu and general training manuals were the majority of it all. He also noticed what Rei was reading was a book on traps. The rest was a small pile of Shinji's scrolls on the basics of fuinjutsu, bottles of ink and paper (some were blank while some had already been used for practice) and…a lot of origami for some reason.

' _They'll be great Konoha shinobi, I know it…although I have no clue why Shinji loves origami so much,'_ he thought as he drifted to sleep.

 **HHHHHHH**

"Good night Sarutobi-san"

"G'night Asuma-san!"

"Good night nii-san"

The three children said as the elder Sarutobi left.

As Rei closed the door Shinji went back to go finish cooking their dinner while Asuka set the table. Fifteen minutes later their meal was sprawled on the table and the three children were enjoying their dinner.

"Always improving Baka," Asuka commented as she ate her food. Shinji just rolled his eyes at her weird way of complimenting him.

' _How could I have never realized it in our old world? Asuka is a tsundere,'_ he mused to himself with a smile.

"I agree with Asuka, this is delicious Shinji-kun," Rei commented.

"Thank you, Rei-chan," he replied with a smile.

The atmosphere was warm and relaxed, a far cry from the tension and stress they all knew too well in the closing months of the Angel War from their old world. They were all just glad to be together, while they all agreed come to this new world once Rei mentioned she could take them to another world with the power she gained when she became whole as Lilith during Impact. Although they did wait until Rei had said the first humans would be returning from the ocean of LCL soon before they left, as being partly responsible for it Shinji had felt he had to watch over the Earth until then.

But in the end they just wanted to be away from their old world, from the nightmares of their traumas and the pain of piloting Eva. They weren't stupid either, they knew they would be wanted as either criminals partly responsible for Impact or because they have experience piloting Eva once humanity had rebuilt itself. No they did not want that.

So Rei/Lilith transported them to this new world.

Once they woke up and saw each other they were happy. While they fought and hurt each other, they were the only ones who could understand each other. They fought alongside each other, bled together and hurt together.

Hell they've seen _all_ of each other during Third Impact. They saw each other's memories and pain and they understood each other on a level most humans would think impossible. And once you understood something on that fundamental level how could you hate it?

With that their bond was stronger than ever.

Together they could do anything, together they could slay even the Angels themselves.

Granted Asuka is still the spitfire she always was but they knew better than to take all of what she says at face value.

But now they were not fighting Angels, now their objective was desert.

"Mmmm!" Asuka squealed as she tried the cake Shinji had made. _'Gott im Himmel! His cooking wasn't this good before! Must have gotten some chefs' memories during Impact...oh yeah, good cake Baka!'_

Shinji on his part just enjoyed the bliss on Asuka's face before turning to Rei and asking what she thought about his experiment.

"I think this is a problem Shinji-kun," she said in her monotone voice.

"What?" he asked, this also got Asuka's attention.

"I believe I may gain weight in the future, stopping myself is proving…difficult," she said as she wolfed down cake.

"Have some self-control Wondergirl!" Asuka chided. And people said she had no self-control.

 **HHHHHHH**

Currently the kids were out in the yard and enjoying the good weather.

*Thunk!* *Thunk!* *Thunk!*

And the third and last kunai embeds itself into the target the children have finished their competition.

"NOOooooo!" Screamed a young red head while Shinji just let out a sigh of relief that he wasn't the one to lose their little contest this time, Asuka didn't hold back when that happened.

Now some people may be wondering what they were doing? It was a game of Asuka's creation, it was simple really. They would compete in a kunai throwing contest, each would get one throw and the one furthest from the bull's-eye would be the, in Asuka's words the lackey of the other two, hence her frustration and Shinji's relief.

Rei just gave a small nod, she got the bull's-eye, not surprising to anyone, the girl was surprisingly good at ranged combat…well surprising for everyone but Shinji and Asuka. Rei had been the unofficial sniper amongst the Eva pilots, out of the other two only Shinji had used a sniper weapon once and that was the positron canon during the battle with Ramiel.

"Alright Asuka, you know what to do, chop chop!" Ordered Shinji as he sat down at the picnic table, it was covered in blank scrolls and ink bottles so he could practice writing fuinjutsu while enjoying the weather, granted he knew without knowing how to use chakra he was just doing fancy calligraphy but his calligraphy was crap and needed improvement anyway.

"I know Baka-Shinji," grumbled Asuka. While she didn't like losing she was happy that Shinji only really asked for a few things when he won and none of them were particularly difficult. And when he was sitting up practicing fuinjutsu, currently he was practicing making storage scrolls, that only meant one thing.

Shoulder massage.

And with an obvious blush the redhead made her way behind her friend and went to work. And even though she was behind him she could practically _see_ his smug grin, he had really come to enjoy teasing her from time to time in recent months.

Rei couldn't help but give a small smile at the sight of her two fellow former pilots, Shinji had come to be more willing to stand up for himself ever since coming to this new world and even though Asuka often voices her feelings on his teasing both girls knew it was a good sign. Granted he was still quiet and fairly shy outside of their little group but it was a start.

Yugao Uzuki, also known as Cat when on duty as an ANBU, couldn't help but shake her head in amusement as she watched the children. She had made it a point to check up on them ever since Dog and her found them. She had grown fond of all three of them and they of her, with the children viewing her as an older sister figure.

And she viewed them the same way.

Rei was the quiet baby sister. She seemed to be always curious, quietly observing the people around her. She was shy, quiet and stoic all the time. She was also proving to be really good at projectile weapons, as her constant victories show.

Asuka was the undeniable spitfire of the trio. She was almost Rei's opposite, she was loud and opinionated and did not shy away from letting her opinion be heard. She had also taken a great interest in taijutsu and she had become very good for her age, she doubted she needed to worry about bullies when she starts going to the Academy.

Shinji she had jokingly labeled the Casanova, obviously capturing the heart of his two housemates. He was also the trio's heart, always making an effort to support the quiet Rei and calm the fiery Asuka. He was also the one she had spent the most time with by far as he had great talent and interest in kenjutsu.

What she loved about them the most though was their group dynamic, they were protective of each other in the extreme; that includes Asuka and Rei over each other which surprised her as she would have thought they would be more competitive over Shinji's attention, which she had rarely seen them do. They seemed to have a sixth sense in knowing what the others want to do in the few group practice fights she had had with them as well, and as a result she looked forward to teaching them how to mold and use chakra. Shinji had started practicing fuinjutsu and she was greatly interested how good he would be once he could use his chakra and practice the art proper. The ANBU who had met the three also had a betting pool going if Asuka would have an affinity for fire or not, and needless to say most people bet 'yes.'

They were also prone to being adorable when together but that was just a side benefit and not the main reason she liked to be around them…really.

That would be silly.

 **HHHHHHH**

Now the children were resting on the roof of their home, it had been a year now since they had come to this world and had finally started basic ninjutsu and genjutsu training from Yugao, granted she could only teach them on some of her rare off duty days. And even then she had her own life to live, she had her family and friends and boyfriend, so most of their training tended to be with each other.

Although sometimes Asuma would drop to help them. Kakashi Hatake, also known as Dog when working as an ANBU also dropped by sometimes but all he would do was say hello and then leave. Curiously a woman, a chunin named Kurenai Yuhi also came by, usually to help with Rei's genjutsu training but...they had the distinct feeling that while she enjoyed their company her main reason was to impress Asuma, she only came when he was around.

Not that they minded mind you, all three children knew how hard it could be to try and get your crush's attention.

Today though Yugao had been particularly hard on them but they didn't mind, they had to become strong to take control of their lives, to make sure they wouldn't become pawns like in their previous lives and to be able to protect their new loved ones and each other.

But now the three children were just lying down and gazing at the stars and enjoying some peace, something they no longer took for granted.

"I love how little light pollution there is compared to Tokyo-3," commented Shinji with a sigh as he stretched his tired arms a little bit. Yugao had started to help him develop his own sword style, it was an interesting challenge but he would have appreciated it if she wasn't so…zealous in literally beating the kinks out. He was happy to get a ninjato though, a sword similar in appearance to a katana but with a straight and shorter blade, as a present. It's his first sword, and while he would have preferred a katana he knew his new body is still growing and currently too small for a full length katana.

"I agree with your assessment Shinji-kun," agreed Rei.

Asuka for once was quiet, just enjoying the moment with a smile on her face. A smile of pride, proud of herself and also proud of her team, they had been making great progress. Yugao had even said they would be able to outdo some of the clan kids by the time they enter the academy, not bad for people completely new to the shinobi lifestyle.

She even said they were already good enough to protect themselves against most vanilla genin.

' _Well what else should I expect? We're the great Eva pilots! Slayer of Angels! We have Rei, NERV's Wondergirl. I have my Baka-Shinji! And I'm THE great Asuka Langley Soryu!'_ she triumphantly thought to herself.

Of course that was in her head so to everyone it was silence.

"Hey Asuka something wrong?" Asked Shinji with some concern, even after mellowing after Impact, at least in her behavior with Rei and him, she was almost never quiet for long.

"Yes I am Shinji, stop worrying so much," she couldn't help but roll her eyes. He was still too nervous sometimes for her liking, always assuming something was wrong.

And after some idle talk about why Yugao' boyfriend seemed to have a _perpetual_ cough that even though he didn't seem to have any symptoms of a serious illness, the three fell into a comfortable silence and just enjoyed the cool night air under the stars.

"Anybody else feel a sense of deja-vu?" Asked Shinji after half an hour.

"Hm? What do you mean?" Asked Asuka.

"Think back Asuka, when was the other time we were able to watch the stars?"

"What are you talking about? Tokyo-3 had way too much light pollution."

"Ah, I agree with Shinji-kun," Rei chimed in, "do you recall Iruel?"

"Remember? When the power went out when we were having a sync test and Dr. Akagi and her people were trying to counter it with the one remaining clean MAGI computer?" Shinji said.

Asuka thought for a few seconds "…Ugh don't remind me, we sat NAKED in the plug for HOURS." Then she started talking in a quiet tone, "although I don't m-mind being like that again when we're ol-"

"Wait," interrupted Rei in a stern voice. That got the two's attention, Rei was never one to interrupt and combined with her tone of voice meant this was something serious. They had recently discovered Rei's talent as a sensor during one of their unofficial lessons with Yugao and they had come to learn to trust the bluenette's warnings and interruptions.

' _Is someone trying to come after us?'_ thought the former Second and Third Children. While they had every confidence in their home's and the compound's ANBU security they also knew that other villages have similar forces, they weren't naïve enough to believe that other villages wouldn't use children as bargaining tools against the Hokage.

"I'm sensing…unfamiliar chakra signature…fast mover, seems to being chased by…a group of civilians?"

' _Wait why is someone with chakra being chased? That would usually mean their shinobi,'_ pondered Shinji, _'…wait didn't father tell me about that kid…Naruto right?'_

Shinji's eyes widened and he shot up on to his feet, and the girls soon did the same. They had discovered very soon after coming to this new world that they had some kind of link. They couldn't read each other's minds but they could feel what the other two were feeling and could sense the general intentions of the others. They hypothesized that it was due to the brief moment of oneness that they experienced during Impact.

And right now they could sense two things from Shinji, anxiety and anger.

"Rei can you tell me anything about our fast mover?" Asked Shinji with a strained voice, he really hoped he was being paranoid, hoping that this was the pessimistic old Shinji rearing its head.

"One moment," said Rei as she was still learning and sharpening her sensor abilities, "it is…a child."

"Damn," muttered Shinji as he went to pick up his ninjato which was lying on the roof as well and gripped the scabbard tight with his left hand.

"What is wrong Shinji-kun?"

"Remember the kid that my father told us about? Naruto?"

"Ah yes, Naruto Uzumaki the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, also known as the Nine Tailed Demon Fox but…I see, this is not good."

"Damnit!…well time to be heroes Baka-Shinji and Wondergirl!" shouted Asuka.

And the three children took off, they were told by the Hokage about the Kyuubi's Jinchuriki and they were livid once they heard about it. They reminded him of themselves to an extent, they were all forced into a situation that brought pain against their own will, even Asuka knew she didn't really have a say in being an Evangelion pilot or not. But this kid, the villagers hated and detested him, at least with them in their old world most people either didn't know about them or respected them for what they did.

They slipped into the formation that they had come up with if they needed to operate by themselves, while they were years away from the Academy and even farther still from doing missions they decided it was best to start preparations early. And so they traversed the roof tops in a triangle formation. Asuka was at the front, she was the tip of their spear and acted as the point-man and was also in charge of navigating and leading the group through their environment. Shinji was to her right and was in charge of defense of the group in case of an ambush so kept his head on a constant swivel. His other jobs were making any tactical decisions therefore letting Asuka focus on navigation and keeping her attention forward. Rei was to her left but slightly closer to the middle of their triangle than the other two, as the sensor of the team she needed to be close to the other two in order to relay any information.

Following Rei's directions they arrived at a roof of a store and looked down to the alley and what they saw set them on edge. The alley was a dead end and at the end was a small blond boy their age cowering in fear as the angry mob came around the bend and cut him off from escaping. While they knew Naruto had ANBU guards of his own, Konoha was still vulnerable and they needed to protect their Jinchuriki, they also knew they probably wouldn't act unless the villagers were just about to cause physical damage.

But they knew all too well how much mental pain can scar you so much more.

So they went into action and descended landed in between the mob and Naruto, being slightly closer to Naruto so they could speak with him.

"Hey you okay Blondie?" Asked Asuka as she turned around to tried to reassure him. The blond boy couldn't help but just nod dumbly in surprise, nobody had tried to stand up to him before and now _three_ kids his own age had come to help!

"Good, Rei check up on him will you?" Asked Shinji as he too turned to face the boy, "Asuka and I will keep the crowed at bay."

Rei shot a glare at the crowed that caused the angry mob to hesitate, she was raging inside, she had seen how abusive her old commander had been when he had abandoned his son and what that did to her precious Shinji-kun and while she would prefer to let her anger out on them she understood what Shinji had meant. She could feel it through their connection, so she walked over to the blond and checked him over.

' _Good, light injuries only, minor bruises and cuts,'_ she observed and reached into the small first-aid kit she had strapped to her left thigh, her present from Yugao, and started to treat his wounds.

Shinji turned to face the mob again and could feel the tension and hostile intent. If this was the old him he knew he would have panicked and ran but the new him? No, he would not abandon someone he could help again like he did Asuka when she fought the MP Evas. He will not run away anymore, besides he had Rei and Asuka by his side.

' _Angels fell before us,'_ he thought to himself as he noticed a few Konoha shinobi in the crowd. They were pushing forward but he wasn't all the scared of them, they seemed to be just older genin (around 16 years old he guessed) as they lacked the chunin flak jacket.

To be a Genin that long probably meant they weren't anything special.

Asuka could sense Shinji's resolve and smiled as she saw him grip his ninjato's hilt with his right hand, ready to defend himself.

' _I got your back Baka-Shinji,'_ she thought with a smile as she put on the fingerless gloves she was given by Yugao, they were specially made for her with a metal plate over the knuckles so she could have protection from bladed weapons. She didn't lie to herself, she had been itching for real action, and what better way for the great Asuka Langley Soryu to debut than being a hero?

The four genin smirked to themselves, they didn't feel the need to fear two kids who were so young they were obviously were too young for even Academy training. If they wanted to play hero for the demon child then so be it.

Two genin charged each of the two armed children, a boy and girl attacking Shinji and a similar pair attacking Asuka. All this was happening as two ANBU security details, one a team of four watching over Naruto and a three man team consisting of each of the former pilots' bodyguards watched but for different reasons. Naruto's team watched because Naruto was not in any form of immediate physical danger, they would have stepped in if one of the villagers tried something but Naruto's minor injuries were caused by him falling and tripping during his run; and they had been ordered to keep their presence secret unless necessary.

The bodyguards of Asuka, Rei and Shinji though were not acting for very different reasons. At the moment they consisted of Cat, Mouse and Dragon and they were watching because they wanted to see how far the children's training had come. Rei's still ongoing treatment of the boy had impressed them, now they wanted to see how far Rei and Shinji's combat training had come. While they would step in if they were needed they felt they probably wouldn't have to act, the four genin had repeatedly failed the chunin exam so they should represent a relatively safe test for the two kids.

Shinji was the first to act by advancing on his pair as Asuka took a few steps back and slipped into a defensive stance with both fists forward, ready to react if her pair decided to go for Rei and Naruto and not her.

The boy came first to Shinji with his left hand out stretched ready to grab Shinji, obviously thinking he wasn't a valid threat as he wore a smug grin on his face.

Big mistake.

Shinji responded by slashing off his hand with a quick upward cut of his ninjato as he unsheathed it in one fluid motion severing the wrist with a quick cut, needless to say the genin's grin fell as he screamed in pain, and he reached for his kunai pouch. Seeing this Shinji, with his ninjato now above his head came down with a vertical strike and cutting into the genin's upper arm and while he didn't have the strength to cut through the bone with his small body the pain the sword's deep wound caused him to drop his kunai. Pressing his advantage Shinji continued his charge and dive rolled under and between the genin's legs and with a quick spin he cut both of his opponents Achilles tendons with the razor sharp blade causing the older boy down and out of the fight as he screamed in pain as his momentum carried him forward and he landed and skidded face first into the pavement.

Seeing her partner go down and Shinji stand from his crouching position and advance on her the female genin reached behind and threw three shuriken which Shinji deflected by swinging the scabbard in his left hand. Then using the momentum already built up Shinji continued into a left spin and seeing this the female genin brought out a kunai to block.

*Clang!*

And sparks flew as the blades met and the kunoichi, to her surprise, had the hand that held her kunai recoil back with the force behind the ninjato. Seeing as she had been underestimating the young swordsman she put both hands on her kunai and swung down in a two handed vertical strike. Shinji of course noticed this and dropped his scabbard so he could use the ninjato with both arms and he brought the ninjato up to a horizontal block.

*Clang!*

The kunoichi couldn't help but smile as the two blades met again, she thought the boy was a fool, his kenjutsu was impressive but it was because of its speed and precision; she would win this contest of strength.

What she didn't know was Shinji's still work-in-progress sword style assumed his opponents may be faster and most likely stronger. He wasn't in his Unit-01 anymore, he did not have the brute strength of a 40 metre tall biomechanical man-made god anymore and he was also young and would likely face stronger and older enemies. So the style Yugao is helping him create focuses on speed, precision, mobility, and using the enemies strengths against them.

So as the two blades met with a clang and sparks flew he started to turn the sword vertical so the tip pointed down to deflect and guide the genin's kunai down and to the right. This meant that he didn't really have to put any strength into blocking the kunai and instead redirected it and because of the strength behind it his foe could not help but fall for his trap. She had now become dangerously overextended and with a side step to the left with his blade in the same vertical tip down position he swung up and down to make a left and down to the right diagonal swing aiming for the older girl's neck but mid swing he shifted his grip so his strike landed with the blunt edge of his sword. And with the force of the strike to such a sensitive area she was knocked out cold.

He didn't want to kill anyone unless it was necessary.

But still he had to suppress his body from quivering as what he just did finally entered his mind. The feeling of blades meeting, the feeling of cutting flesh and while he had felt similar sensations in his Eva and while he had resolved himself after Impact he was still Shinji Ikari. Even his new self had elements of his old self in him and a slight fear of danger remained in him.

But he had to be strong, he had to be scary to keep the mob at bay, to protect Naruto and most importantly to protect Rei and Asuka.

' _I WILL not run away, I will not abandon them!'_ he thought as he steeled himself.

Flicking the blood off his sword and shot the meanest look he could at the mob he could muster as he picked up his scabbard with his left hand. After that he took a deep breath as he stood with his blade pointed towards the crowed in an obvious warning.

Asuka of course couldn't watch all of her Baka-Shinji's fight as her own foes came at her with the boy in front and the girl a few paces behind him. She did at least get to see Shinji cut off one of his opponent's hands before she had to put all focus on her enemies.

The male genin came at her with both hands outstretched as he lunged at her attempting to tackle her. Asuka cursed internally as she would have wanted to back up for more space but she noticed that Shinji had defeated his first opponent now and that Rei had moved to start stopping the bleeding from Shinji's cuts.

' _Oh we will SO have a talk about WHEN you can and cannot heal the enemies Wondergirl!'_ she screamed in her head.

So she was forced to do the opposite, to advance into her opponent as she reinforced and strengthen her limbs with chakra, a trick she learned from Yugao. As she closed in she used her smaller stature to her advantage by ducking down to dodge the older boy's hands as she brought her arms back.

Her own taijutsu style, also a young work-in-progress, focused on mobility, speed and precision strikes like Shinji but instead of using her enemy's strength against them by guiding it away or deflecting it to leave them vulnerable she used it to fuel her strikes. So as she came up, now between her opponents arms, she slammed both arms into a double palm strike into the genin's solar plexus.

*GUH!*

As her trike hit the genin felt like he was hit by a battering ram as Asuka's chakra reinforced arms hit home and combined with his own forward momentum knocked the wind out of him as he was sent flying backwards. He was still in mid-air and could not support himself.

Asuka knew he wouldn't be out yet. She was smaller, much smaller than him and her chakra reinforcement was still something she was new at. Plus while she wouldn't like to admit it, Rei was better at it than her, although she could still beat Rei in taijutsu spars almost all the time because while Rei was stronger she was much more skilled. So to finish him off she jumped up to come down on the genin with the help of gravity.

As the genin landed on his back he looked up to see a smiling red head coming down with an axe kick.

"RAAAH!" Asuka cried out as she came down like a fiery red meteor, a small one granted, but to her older foe it was enough to make him wet himself.

She seriously hoped not all Konoha genin were so wimpy, seriously he was sixteen, she was _four_.

"GAH!" The genin cried out from _another_ but much harder hit to his solar plexus, causing him to loose his breath and cough out some blood.

"Fuck," said Asuka's second enemy in disbelief. Seeing her other opponent Asuka gave a kick to the side of her first opponent's head to knock him out. Looking at the older girl Asuka saw she was still a little shocked and decided to take the initiative rushed the older girl.

Said older girl came out of her shock too late as a she too was hit by Asuka's chakra reinforced double palm strike to the solar plexus.

"Grk!" she grunted as the wind was knocked out of her but unlike her partner she had both feet on the ground and instead of being sent flying she stumbled a few steps back but quickly recovered somewhat. She then tried to send a roundhouse kick to the side of Asuka's head but the redhead just, again, used her small size to her advantage by ducking down. Seeing an opportunity she rolled forward to end up behind her foe. Quickly she stood up and delivered her own roundhouse kick to the side her enemy's head and knocking the older girl out as she hit the alley wall with an audible thud.

As she turned around she smiled as she saw Shinji safe and sound as he faced the mob, his own foes defeated and soon stood at his side.

As the two looked into the crowed they saw another genin leap out from the back with shurikens in between the fingers of both his hands ready to throw them. They did not panic however, they could sense Rei already moving into action, apparently finishing her treatment of Naruto and the badly cut genin.

And before the fifth and final genin could throw his weapons two kunai whistled past Asuka and Shinji through the space between their heads and hit the genin in hands causing him to scream in pain and drop his skurikens. As he landed in front of the crowed he cradled his wounded hands as he sobbed in pain.

"Oh woman up," commented Asuka.

Needless to say the mob was stunned. Three little genins took on and defeated five genin, sure they were just genin but they had shinobi training! They were scared.

Naruto was speechless, he was surprised that they helped him but he was even more surprised at how good the three kids in front of him were and how well they worked together. They had obviously had shinobi training that, he knew, and if he didn't want to be a shinobi already then he would now.

' _Could I learn to defend myself like that? Could I save others too? So nobody would have to be scared like I am? Will people respect and acknowledge me then?'_ the young blond pondered.

The ANBU present were surprised as well, especially Naruto's security detail, at the skill of the three children. The brown haired boy's sword skill was of a new style most haven't seen before. And while to their trained eyes they could see his movements were still a little rough and unpolished his skill was easy to be seen. His sword moved with precision and no hesitation and didn't cringe when he saw blood, like he'd _seen_ combat before.

But how could that be?

The redhead had struck with more strength than her small frame should have let her. More impressively was her speed, quick thinking and _sheer aggression_ and _ferocity_ in her movements. She was in charge of the fight from the moment she first struck the older boy. And, like her male companion, her movements were still rough but she appeared to have seen combat as well.

The bluenetter, while not participating in combat, had acted calmly and efficiently in her treatment of Naruto. She had quickly cleaned his cuts and scrapes and applied band-aids on the small wounds. But what was really impressive was her treatment of the male genin the boy had defeated, she did not hesitate at the sight of the sword wounds as she applied bandages. Then as icing on the cake she had thrown her kunais with precision and zero hesitation. Who were these kids?

Yugao just smiled behind her Cat mask. While obviously tired, she doubted Shinji and Asuka could take even one more genin of the same skill level they had faced without passing out after, they had performed very well for their age.

' _I guess we should act now and scare away the rest of the mob, Asuka and Shin-kun are on almost at their limits,'_ she decided.

But before she could signal her two fellow ANBU bodyguards to act she felt the presence and then the voice of someone who she knew would handle the situation.

"CEASE AND DESIST!"

The Sandaime Hokage had arrived.

 **NEXT ON THE THREE CHILDREN FROM THE END OF DAYS: CHAPTER 1: SCHOOL DAYS START!**

 **A/N**

 **Poll: Check out my profile to let me know what eva crossover I should try out next!**

So yeah ANOTHER story hehe. What can I say, I AM a scatter brain, it says so on my profile.

SO yeah a Naruto x Eva story, had this one drift into my mind after reading some naruto and eva stories. This one will focus on the adventures of Shinji, Rei and Asuka as they try to live their new lives in the Naruto verse.

That's all I can say really. So expect to see more familiar Naruto characters in the next chapter, such as the Rookie 9!


	2. V1 Chapter 1: School Days Start!

**V1 Chapter 1: School Days Start!**

 **Shinji's Home, Sarutobi Clan Compound, Konoha**

Asuka, lying on her side, slowly opened her eyes as she slowly woke up from a peaceful night of sleep, something that had become common for her now in this new world.

A peaceful night of sleep, that is definitely something she had learned from a young age to _never_ take for granted after the almost nightly nightmares she had to suffer through after the death of her mama. Even to this day she said a silent thank you to any gods that may exist every time she woke up without a nightmare.

She looked down and saw a tuft of brown hair and smiled at, in her opinion, the person most responsible for her continuous nights of peaceful slumber. She could feel his warm body with her arms wrapped around him and smiled. She hugged him a little tighter and nuzzled against the tuft of his hair, eliciting happy murmurs from the ex-Third Child. She just basked in his presence for a moment.

These small moments of peace is what she lives for.

After a few moments she made sure to unwrap her limbs around the small boy _very_ carefully before crawling out of the sheets and off the bed and on to her feet with just as much care. She could feel that her shirt was a bit wet with Shinji's drool but she just laughed quietly at how carefree he felt in his sleep now. A part of her felt a little bad at the fact that if he did something so innocent in the past she would beat him black and blue, Gott she was such a bitch back then.

That said if somebody _other_ than Shinji did it she would rip off their own arm and beat them with it. While she made an effort not to be a bitch with Shinji, she didn't make any promise to do that for anyone else right?

Besides she knew Shinji found her fire attractive, and if the boy she loved found the sight of her beating the daylights out of those stupid enough to piss her off hot then too bad for her victims right?

After quickly stretching her back with a grunt she looked at his sleeping face and smiled. He looked so peaceful, so content. She still remembered seeing him asleep a few times in their old world. First during a few nights while undergoing their synchronization training to fight against the 7th Angel and a few times after, sometimes he would fall asleep on the couch at home or sometimes he would catch a nap in the car during the ride home after a long day of tests and training at NERV. During all that time he had always looked…stressed? Pained? Either way she could probably count the times she had seen him sleep peacefully in their old life on both her hands. To see him sleep so peacefully now made her happy.

They both deserved at least that much.

A blush worked up to her cheeks as she thought about how adorable he is as a child and a part of her wished they had met when they were younger. Another part of her wondered how his bastard of a father could abandon such a cute and innocent child to a family that did things to him that _still_ made her blood boil.

She herself had been dealt a shitty hand by fate, hell all three of them have had shitty childhoods but in her opinion Shinji had had it the worse. Sure she had spent a life training to be an Eva pilot but at least plenty of people at NERV Germany genuinely cared for her. Sure Rei is a clone who had lived an empty life delude of joy but at least she had been taken care off. Shinji though had lived a life designed by his father to break him down as a human being.

THAT is something she would never forgive the bastard for. She hoped that he burns in hell for what he had put herself, Rei and Shinji through.

Asuka shook her head, she had things to do and thinking dark thoughts would do nothing to help her. So after gently fixing the blanket and tucking him back into their bed she put her shinobi training to good use and silently walked out of their home's master bedroom.

' _Who would have thought this ninja stuff would be so handy?'_ she thought to herself with great amusement. She was pretty sure this isn't what Yugao thought her trainging would be used for but she didn't care.

She started her shinobi training to protect the smile of the two people she cared about the most, if it couldn't even protect Shinji's happy sleeping face then what good is it for?

Closing the door quietly she let a smirk show on her face at the excellent show of stealth straight out of bed. _'Well that's to be expected isn't it? I'm Asuka Langley Soryu after all!'_

She walked down the hall to the door that had '00' written on it in white, in comparison her and Shinji's room has '01+02' written on it in purple and red respectively. She slowly and carefully opened the door to Rei's room and smiled at the girl still sleeping inside and closed the door. That was something that had actually surprised her, Rei isn't a morning person, the constantly serious looking Wondergirl she knew was the very image of diligence. From her by the books style behavior when it came to school and work at NERV she had always imagined the blue haired girl to be like Shinji and be the kind of person that could wake up at the crack of dawn and be totally fine.

Content that her housemate is still asleep and doing so peacefully she closed the door.

Shinji and Asuka had started sleeping together because it helped with their nightmares. Seeing that it worked she had offered for Rei to share a bed with them as well. While Asuka didn't like the idea of sharing him she also didn't dislike the idea of sharing him with Rei. Asuka had been selfish and self-centered for years in her old life and all it brought her was a life of loneliness. Even when Shinji had made such a big effort to be nice to her she had pushed him away.

She wouldn't keep Rei away from the happiness she herself had, in her stupidity, pushed away.

Rei though, being typical Rei, had told them she had no such nightmares and therefore no need to share a room with them and did not wish to take up room on their bed. She had wanted to just drag Wondergirl into bed with Shinji and herself anyway but Shinji had convinced her that they needed to take it slow with Rei. She's only now finally living a normal childhood after all and so they had both decided to let Rei work through her emotions at her own pace with them supporting her every step of the way.

Making her way downstairs she starts cooking breakfast. Nothing fancy though, just some omelets, sausages, toast and orange juice for all three of them.

That had been another change, Rei no longer minding eating meat.

Shinji and her had theorized that due to experiencing eating meat through both of their memories and had found the second hand experience pleasurable.

Well either that or Rei's pragmatism won through and started eating meat because of their choice to become shinobi. That means they all needed the protein to build up their strength and in the field once their rations, if they have any at all, have ran dry then they would need all the food they can find. They can't choose to be picky.

Shinji and herself leaned more on the latter when it came to Rei but at least she seemed to have learned to like eating meat, if she chose to do it b/c of practical reasons and didn't enjoy it at all they would have preferred Rei move into civilian life instead. After all, the reason they had chosen the life they had is to have the power to protect their own happiness. If Rei wasn't happy living the shinobi way then Shinji and herself would more than happily pick up the slack and let her do what she wants.

As fellow soldiers they would understand if she was sick of fighting.

"Good morning Asuka," she suddenly heard from behind causing her to 'eep' in surprise. She knew who it was instantly from the soft monotone of the voice.

"Jesus, Wondergirl! How many times have I told you to make some noise when walking around at home? I almost splashed some oil on myself!"

"Ah…" she heard Rei and immediately regretted snapping at the girl. While most people probably wouldn't be able to hear the difference Asuka could hear the regret and shame in Rei's voice. "I'm sorry Asuka."

"Its fine Rei," she sighed. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. Can you please set the table?"

"Of course."

Rei went off to do her task quietly, that was something that didn't change, Rei is still the quiet girl she had always been.

Well Asuka doesn't really mind anymore, that's just who she is like how Asuka is still a spitfire and Shinji is still shy.

Somethings just don't change, even after an apocalypse.

Plating the sausages and bringing the plate of food to their dining table Asuka listened and heard footsteps from upstairs and knew that Shinji had just woken up. Normally Shinji would be the one up and cooking breakfast, Rei can't cook anything past cooking something found in the field to make it safe for consumption and Asuka just didn't like waking up earlier than necessary so Shinji still cooked breakfast most days.

She would feel bad if she didn't know that Shinji _loved_ cooking.

Last night though Shinji had stayed up late with Asuma-san studying clan politics so she didn't mind cooking breakfast for once, plus he has to go to a meeting with the elders this morning and he needs to be well rested.

And after that is their first day at the Academy so she has to prepare their bento boxes after breakfast.

' _Gonna be a busy day today.'_

* * *

"Is that really necessary Asuka-chan?" Yugao asked as she relaxed in the children's backyard while eying the workers currently finishing up the extension to the home of the children that she had come to think of as her little siblings or perhaps even as her own kids.

Asuka just shrugged in response, "well with Shinji really getting serious learning fuinjutsu now it'll be nice for him to have a proper workshop to work in, just in case something like an explosive tag goes wrong."

Yugao couldn't do anything but agree. In the couple of years that had passed now since the three children had come to Konoha they had taken their training seriously. She'd put money that any of them can take on any of the clan born children their age one on one. Civilian born kids in the Academy or children that haven't already received shinobi training wouldn't stand a chance at all against any of them. That said she did question the forge also being installed, wasn't it a bit much? She never did see eye to eye with any of the clans' elders.

"You okay?" she asked the normally fiery redhead, she looked…too somber for someone of her attitude and age as she sat across the picnic table from Yugao. Rei though, who is currently sitting beside Yugao and just quietly watching the workers with curiosity looked just like she did all the time to the older woman. She had started getting 'Rei-speak' lessons from Shinji and Asuka to understand the bluenette's subtle emotional ques but it hadn't really started to bear fruit yet. "You look stressed."

"Yeah…a little."

"Is it because of Shinji-sama?" She asked Asuka.

Shinji had, with an amusing amount of gusto, begged her to just refer to him as Shinji. He had always insisted his adoption by the Sarutobi clan be kept on the down low, not kept a secret but just something he didn't want attention brought to. She knew it wasn't out of disrespect though, he just didn't like the attention it brought him. Most of the people who know him had complied as they only really did it out of respect to the Hokage and the 'proper' members of the clan, not out of any respect for the meek child.

Well at least the children at the Academy wouldn't call him that, that should at least make him happy. The clan born kids will see him as an equal and the other kids will be too young to know what to do while the teachers are told not to play favorites and treat all kids as equals. A part of her though told her that all three of them would earn the respect of others when they're older.

As for her and the ANBU who had watched over the kids they know what he's really like. A kind, hardworking and loyal young shinobi in the making. A boy that behaved more like a young man, a boy that would risk his life for his friends and loved ones. That spirit of his that embodied what a good Konoha shinobi should be had earned their respect and so had decided to still regard him with the 'sama' suffix.

Plus the annoyed little glare he sometimes shot at her when she called him that is just too adorable to resist.

"Yeah," Asuka sighed. Moments like these always gave her the impression that the Children were older than they actually are. "I don't like him going off to these meetings by himself. We stick together Yugao-nee, together we can do so much! Alone…I-I just don't like the idea of leaving him to deal with the old men by himself."

"Asuka-chan," she placed a hand on one of the younger girl's own to try and calm her down. "remember that Hokage-sama will be there too."

"I know!" she snapped before calming down. "I know…and I understand _why_ they're doing this. Adopting a child outside of a shinobi clan is already rare. A shinobi clan adopting a child with no shinobi background is _unheard_ of. Adopting a child with no background _at all_? _NEVER_ happened before!...and then he has us live with him."

Yugao grimaced before a small proud smile shows on her face at the small girl's care for her male housemate and for her maturity in understanding the politics of the situation. At least Yugao can be confident that Shinji would have a capable council as he grows up.

Thinking back to the meeting though Yugao understood why the meetings took place.

When Shinji, Asuka and Rei arrived at the village the ever so kind Sandaime Hokage wanted to take the kids in. They had no family or home to go to and with the state of the village at the time, still recovering from the attack of the Kyuubi, most families couldn't take in extra mouths to feed as the village focused all its efforts in rebuilding its military capability. The only families that had more than enough to go around at the time were the shinobi clans, in fact because of the heavy casualties suffered by the village the highly skilled shinobi of the clan received even more work than usual to pick up the slack which resulted in the clans building _up_ wealth and power during those tumultuous times. Only clans like the Sarutobi had the extra resources available to take the three kids in at the time.

The elders of the Sarutobi clan were _not_ happy with the idea at the time. The children had then been asked to demonstrate any skills they had, to which all three agreed and asked to be given academic tests for children several years older than them.

They had completed all of them, perfectly.

Even the elders were surprised. Yugao had been a part of the Hokage's security detail at the time and boy she would _never_ forget the faces of all those old men and women.

After that the children were taken in, albeit at great reluctance. The Sarutobi clan being wealthier than ever and seeking to spread their influence into civilian affairs, they saw the…use of three genius children. Of course the children couldn't slack off so Shinji, the only one that had actually taken the Sarutobi name needed to report monthly to the council of clan elders. After the children started on the path of the shinobi the clan had been accepting, wishing to gain more power and influence aside they _are_ still a shinobi clan _first_ and foremost.

Military might trumped civilian influence any day of the week.

That said the monthly meetings still continued, much to her and the two girl's annoyance.

' _How do I cheer her up?'_

"Ah, Asuka-chan?"

"Hm?" the girl hummed as she cast the workers a curious glance.

"Excited to go to the Academy?" Yugao asked, honestly curious.

Asuka grimaced in disgust, "and be surrounded by gross kids? No!"

' _She does realize that she, Rei and Shinji are kids too right?'_ Yugao raised a brow as the redhead continued.

"Besides what are we going to learn that we need to go there to learn it anyway? Science, math and writing? We already know all that, the tests we took when we first came here proved that. History? BAH! We can go just go to the village library and learn all that. And don't think I haven't gone over what they teach at the Academy Yugao-nee. Leaf Concentration Practice? Rope Escape, Clone and Transformation Jutsu? How to use storage scrolls? How to use throwing weapons? Basic taijutsu and kunai combat? We know all that! And more!"

Yugao couldn't really say anything about that, Asuka had been right after all. Hell, in a way Yugao felt sorry for the Jonin-sensei that will be in charge of the Children once they graduated from the Academy. She sincerely hoped that whoever they will be didn't wish for the satisfaction of teaching them more advanced techniques, she had already taught them Water Walking and Tree Climbing. By the time they would graduate the kids could probably take on a Chunin with the jutsus she knows they would have picked up by then.

' _I hope you three don't get assigned to Kurenai, I doubt she'd forgive me,'_ she thought as she remembered how excited her friend is about becoming a Jonin-sensei.

"Asuka," Yugao called her, "please at _least_ pretend to pay attention? You sensei will only be doing their jobs."

"Of course," Asuka huffed. "I'm not some child."

Yugao sighed, she just knew that she wouldn't be cheering up Asuka. When she was _this_ annoyed by something it usually took a certain blue eyed boy to calm her down…well maybe Rei could but the girl usually just stayed quiet when the redhead made her wrath be known.

"Come on Asuka, and you too Rei, I'll drop you two off at the Academy."

* * *

 **Academy, Konoha**

"Asuka," Rei called to her as they waited outside of the Academy.

"What is it Wondergirl?" Asuka asked as she tapped her foot in annoyance.

"Your facial expression is scaring away the other children," Rei said in her usual monotone although Asuka heard the easy to miss 'duh isn't it obvious?' in her tone.

Rei wasn't lying either, looking around Asuka could see the scowl on her face scaring the other kids away. It isn't hard to miss either. With Rei and her standing off to one side of the courtyard in front of the Academy, with Asuka sitting atop the fence while Rei just stood beside her the other kids gave them a plenty of space.

Then she heard the bell ring and the kids started to shuffle in, Rei and her didn't make a move to follow them though. They had all agreed to take their formal first step into shinobi life _together._ So what if they have to take the step a few days after the first day of school? Wasn't their fault, damn clan elders and their old fashioned ways. If they weren't her Baka's new family she would wish that time finally killed the old bastards, wasting his time and constantly nagging him about acting 'like a proper Sarutobi.'

' _Had he ever done anything to disgrace their name? NO!,'_ she fumed before taking a deep breath, if Shinji saw her like this he would end up worrying _way_ too much about what made her upset.

The sun rises in the morning, Rei is quiet and Shinji worries too much, just the way the universe works.

Looking at her future school mates she felt happy that at least there's no uniform at the Academy. If anything it would force her precious Baka into something more interesting than what he used to wear back in Tokyo-3. The kids were dressed in all sorts of different clothing, she also saw Naruto's familiar bright orange track jacket along with his bright blond hair in the crowd. _'What kind of shinobi wears such bright clothing?'_

Asuka herself is dressed in a red V-neck short sleeved shirt with a sleeveless mesh undershirt underneath, only visible because of her shirt's V-neck cut, for some basic protection. She also wore a pair of black short and a pair of black sandals with the same fingerless gloves that Yugao gave her all those years ago worn on her hands. Her hair had been cut shorter now, she loved her hair yes but she only really grew it so long because she loved the attention and praise it brought her.

Now though the long hair may only have hurt her, giving the enemy something to grab onto so she had cut it shorter, not too short mind you, she knew Shinji liked running his hands through her hair after all. Also, she did like doing up her hair so had done it up in a simple pony tail with a black ribbon, a gift from Rei of all people.

Rei herself is dressed in a similar top but coloured white and with long sleeves that are long enough to hide her hands along with a sky blue skirt with shorts underneath. Rei's hair hadn't changed, still shorter than Asuka's so it didn't need any shortening.

"There," Asuka gestured to the last of the kids entering the school, "now I'm not scaring them."

Rei blinked, "you are still scowling."

"So?" Asuka's brow twitched.

"I thought the children were annoying you."

"They were. What's your point Rei?"

"Why are you still upset?" the former First Child tilted her head in confusion.

Asuka just sighed, she didn't like worrying Rei. "Just worrying for _our_ Baka."

Rei blinked in confusion again, "I think Shinji-kun is quite intelligent."

"I…*sigh* it's just my pet name for him Rei."

"Pet name?"

"Nick name Rei," Asuka sighed again. _'Oh Wondergirl you'll be the death of me, I swear.'_

Asuka couldn't help but look at her blue haired friend like one would look like a lovable but dumb as nails blue dog. It always astounded her how, even after the years Rei had stayed so comically ignorant of…well anything anyone would label 'common sense.' While Asuka would never admit it to anyone but herself she's absolutely sure that if Rei and Shinji attended university with her then Rei would probably get the highest marks out of the three of them if they ever took the same course.

Sadly book smarts did not translate to street smarts.

That very same Rei looked like she had just had a life changing epiphany, _'seriously, I've been calling him Baka for years by now.'_

Asuka heard someone body flicker behind her and she smiled as she heard a familiar soft voice.

"Sorry I'm late."

She couldn't help but shake her head at that, _'typical Shinji, first word out of his mouth is a damn apology.'_

She turned around and saw an embarrassed looking Shinji, something that would have angered her once upon a time but now she can't help but blush a bit at how adorable it made him look.

Yup she really wished they met each other as kids.

Hell, she even saw a faint bit of pink on chibi-Rei.

He was wearing a simple black shirt with '01' in white over his right breast along with a purple scarf wrapped around his neck. His simple but good looking outfit is finished off with a pair of grey shinobi pants with a double kunai holster strapped to his left leg, the standard blue sandals and his trusty ninjato slung over his shoulder.

"Well," Rei started in her usual monotone, "shall we proceed?"

* * *

Naruto Uzumaki sat in class bored as all hell.

The Academy had been a lot more dull than he had imagined it to be.

He thought it would have all kinds of cool stuff! But a lot of it had been stuff they would teach to civilians.

Where was all the cool shinobi stuff?

Speaking of cool shinobi he wondered where _they_ were? The people who saved him a few years ago.

Asuka-san, Shinji-san and Rei-chan.

They had become friends over the years and they would hang out and eat ramen together from time to time. It wasn't often enough in Naruto's opinion, they were some of the few people who held absolutely no animosity for him and instead made it a point to try and help him out whenever they could. While they couldn't help him out all the time or spend a lot of time with him, they did live on the other side of the village and seemed to be busy people after all, it was the thought that counted for him.

' _When I become Hokage I'll let them know my gratitude!'_ he nodded to himself in satisfaction, maybe he'll get some ramen recipes at Ichiraku Ramen named after them?

He expected them to be here at the Academy and he did look forward to seeing them on a daily basis.

So he just plunked his head on his desk and just listened to his sensei.

"Settle down class," his sensei walked into the room and the other students started to drift back to their seats. Naruto had thought about playing a few pranks on his classmates or teachers beforehand but thought against it in the end. While lenient when she's not around the chance of Asuka-san being in his class is still too high. If she ever found out he did something so immature he was pretty sure she'd beat the daylights out of him.

Friends or not she scared the crap out of him!

His sensei, a chunin dressed in the normal uniform of green Konoha flak jacket, blue shinobi pants, long sleeved blue shirt and blue sandals clapped his hands as the kids sat down. He had tan skin, brown hair tied into a spiky ponytail, black hair and a long horizontal scar across his nose and black eyes and his name is Iruka.

"We have three new students joining us today."

At that he heard most of the class murmur amongst themselves and Naruto's head perked up at that, he had always had good instincts and if his are right, and they usually are…a smile spread across his face.

"Sensei!" a girl with pink hair raised her hand, Sakura-chan, the girl of his dreams.

"Yes Haruno-kun?"

"Why are they only coming now?"

"Ah, well due to personal reasons they have not been able to attend the Academy until today. Anymore questions?"

Silence and a few headshakes was all he got and so his sensei went to the door and three individuals walked into the class.

Asuka-san marched into class first, full of confidence, her red hair tied into a pony tail flowing behind her.

Rei-chan calmly followed her, no emotions that Naruto could read on her face.

Last but far from the least came Shinji, looking uncomfortable at all the attention his group attracted. Naruto still found it shocking that someone that looked like a complete wuss, not that Naruto would ever say that out loud since Asuka-san would splatter him over half of Konoha, could be so damn _cold_ in a fight.

The class exploded into excitement and frankly Naruto didn't blame them, even if the blond Ino behind him shrieking about Shinji _really_ hurt his poor ears. _'Well at least Sakura-chan isn't shrieking!'_

Silencing the class his sensei motioned for the three to introduce themselves.

First came Asuka-san who stepped forward, a superior smirk on her face with one hand on her hip while the other threw her ponytail over her shoulder.

"Asuka Langley Soryu! Charmed huh?" and a lot of the boys cheered in response while some of the girls were obviously _pissed_. Naruto just shook his head though. He felt sorry for the boys, really. Oh he could understand _why_ they were so happy. Asuka is confident, fiery and cute as all hell, in a few years Naruto knew she would be a knock out. He had a crush on her too once upon a time, just like most of the male class now. When she found out though she had let him down in her own way.

Bluntly

Still he appreciated her coming out straight, imagine if he spent the next several years trying to win over someone already totally one hundred percent in love with someone else?

That would've sucked.

Naruto made a silent prayer. He could already see some of the more hot headed classmates eying her. Naruto couldn't help but sigh and hoped that Asuka-san didn't kill anyone, the girl's temper could match a badly made explosive tag. Add that in with how timid Shinji is and he knew some of the jerks in his class would try to 'out man' him to get Asuka's attention and Naruto knew just how protective his three friends were about each other.

 _EXTREMELY_ protective.

Then Rei-chan stepped forward as Asuka-san stepped back and she introduce herself in her usual soft monotone.

"Rei Ayanami…" she said and Naruto just sweat dropped at her minimalist attitude before he saw Shinji whisper something in her ear, "…nice to meet you all."

' _Wow, that didn't sound forced at all,'_ he just shook his head. The girl was nice as can be but _weird_.

Still he could see the boys get excited _again_ but he knew the quiet blue haired red eyed girl too is already spoken for…even if she didn't speak much at all.

Next came Shinji who stepped forward as Rei stepped back.

"H-hello," Shinji softly stuttered, "my n-name is Shinji Ikari Sarutobi, p-please take care of me."

Que squealing girls.

Normally Naruto didn't like people like Shinji, good looking pretty boys that tended to get the attention of girls with no effort.

Hell, even to someone as dense as Naruto it was obvious the shy Shinji had already earned the love of both Asuka and Rei.

And those two were totally okay sharing him with each other!

It was like a harem manga...but real.

If Naruto didn't know him then he may have thought that the shy puppy dog act was fake but he knew better. Shinji really didn't like attention, which now that he thought about it is a good thing for a shinobi.

He also didn't care for the attention of girls except two.

Rei and Asuka, who are currently glaring at the class with stares so cold and scary that it made Naruto shiver even if it wasn't aimed at him. He felt justified in fearing his friends. He had earned Asuka's anger once a few years ago when he made fun of Shinji over something stupid, something touchy, something he didn't even remember anymore…yeah he couldn't walk straight for _weeks_ after that and he healed a lot faster than most people!

Still he can't help but be glad that the three of them had been put in the same class as him.

* * *

Rei sat outside with the rest of her class. Iruka-sensei had declared it time for sparring practice and had led the class outside for the last class of the day. She couldn't help but frown as she sat down on Shinji's left. She just didn't like fighting in such close proximity to her opponent.

So now they were all sitting at the edge of the practice field with Iruka-sensei having their class roster in hand as he randomly called students to spar and he would keep doing so until either all the students have fought or the bell would ring. The rules for the spar are simple, close combat only, blunt training weapons are allowed, no ninjutsu, spar ends at knockout, surrender or at sensei's orders.

Herself, Shinji, who sat in between herself and Asuka are seated in the back row of their class. She had not been surprised to see that she didn't see anybody she recognized in class except for Uzumaki-kun, the boy they had saved from a mob and the boy that the Sandaime Hokage told them to try and befriend.

It was a a logical request to Rei. Loneliness, abuse and isolation was just asking for mental instability and with the power the young blond contained it made perfect sense for the Hokage to try and ensure the boy did not go insane and rampage.

Rei herself was glad for the request, she too knew what it is to be lonely, no child deserves to go through life alone in her opinion.

She could see the blond and loud shinobi, a strange trait for a shinobi-to-be in her opinion, almost bouncing in anticipation.

' _Ah, he is like Soryu…'_ her thought trailed off before she remembered that Shinji-kun told her that people who are close refer to each other by their first name, _'…Asuka. Loud and somewhat obnoxious but not entirely unlikable. Perhaps this is a trait of people with fiery hair pigmentation? This requires further observation.'_

So she turned her attention to her fellow former Evangelion pilot. She too seemed to be excited. Not that Rei could read her expression well…or at all, she really found her social ineptitude irritating, but she could feel it through the metaphysical bond she shared with Shinji-kun and Asuka. _'I hope this bond does not fade with time. If it does so it will be…inconvenient for myself.'_

Her bond let her understand the two people who mattered to her the most and right now she could sense that the former pilot of Unit-02 was excited and… _'aroused?'_

That made her blink as she wondered what her housemate found arousing about sparring, not she understood the intricacies of sex herself. She understood why Asuka would be excited, generally speaking Asuka liked to fight so that was no surprise, especially with the way some of the girls had been eyeing _their_ Shinji…well Rei finally understood what jealousy felt like.

So she at least learned something new today.

Needless to say Rei had taken out her newly understood frustration on the girl that her sensei assigned as her opponent. She may not be nearly anywhere as good in taijutsu as Asuka or Shinji but she specialized in medical ninjutsu for a reason; she _excelled_ in chakra control, the very same chakra control that Asuka used to increase her strength.

Rei may not be that skilled but she could hit _hard_ , harder than even Asuka.

Then Rei reached a hypothesis as she remembered a time when she was focusing on her bond with Asuka as said girl was training with Shinji in bladed weapon combat, Shinji's specialty. They were training with blunt weapons and Rei, seeking to increase her understanding of human emotions, decided to concentrate on their bond. While their bond did let them feel each other's emotions it normally had to be a strong emotion to be felt unless one were to actively try to feel for it.

She had expected to feel frustration as Shinji drove Asuka back, Asuka's kunai failing to get past Shinji's ninjato. Yes Asuka had become less volatile compared to their old world but she is still Asuka and in the end of the day and after three hours Rei had expected an outburst of anger.

It did come but Rei also felt that the former Second Child felt aroused by it which confused her greatly. When confronted privately Asuka had, red faced, replied that she 'found Shinji especially attractive when he's fighting, confident, decisive and strong.'

"Asuka Langley Soryu! And Hanshiro Isobe! You two are next!" their sensei called, snapping Rei out of her own thoughts.

As she watched Asuka stand up and begin to walk she realized that Asuka and herself really are opposites.

Asuka is loud and she isn't.

Asuka knew what she felt for Shinji-kun, or Rei assumed she did, while she still found herself overwhelmed by the intense emotions.

Lastly, while they both loved Shinji as a whole Asuka especially liked when Shinji acted strong and in charge, like he is in a fight or in his shinobi persona while Rei preferred the quiet moments of gentle kindness he showed.

Like when she smiled a real smile for the first time back in the battle against the Fourth Angel, not the fake smiles she used to show the Commander of NERV. No, those were her just trying to imitate the man she had now grown to _despise_ , the smile she showed Shinji was _real_ and even now though the memory of their first battle together always brought the painful burning sensations she didn't care, she treasured it all the same.

Rei snapped out of her thoughts when she felt Shinji's warm hand squeeze her own.

"You ok Rei? Something wrong? You're spacing out."

Rei blinked, Shinji catching her off guard, "N-no, Shinji-kun. I was just thinking about Asuka's behavior."

"Why?"

"Some of her previous behavior confused me."

Shinji smiled at her and she felt her cheeks warm a little before he nodded and turned his attention back towards the match, "Well I can't help you with that, I barely understand Asuka myself sometimes."

Rei nodded and turned her attention to the match. She knew who would win already but she still hoped to learn by watching Asuka, although she doubted that Asuka would do anything too fancy. So she'll probably learn nothing by watching. _'I doubt the other children will be able to see her movements either. This spar will probably prove useless...unfortunate.'_

The two of them arrived at the middle of the field. Rei turned her attention to Hanshiro Isobe. He is a tall boy for his age with a light tan. He wore a olive drab green shirt over a black long sleeve shirt, black cargo shorts and a black balaclava with a skull motif that covered the bottom of his face. Rei wracked her memory of what she knew about him and drew a blank. Not surprising, while she knew Naruto Uzumaki and a few other students but what she knew was limited to second hand information. Shinji had met some of the clan born children before during meetings with the clans and he had told Asuka and her about them.

Rei saw Shinji shaking his head from the corner of her vision and turned to face him, "Shinji-kun?"

"Oh, yes Rei?"

She tilted her head, indicating her curiosity, "why did you shake her your head?"

"Oh," Shinji blinked before motioning to their male classmate, "he's trying _way_ too hard to try to appear like an intimidating shinobi. I mean, we're not even genin right? What shinobi would _ever_ be scared of us?"

Hearing that Uzumaki-kun turned to face them with a deadpan look, "that's easy to say for you, you're pretty scary, Shinji-san."

Shinji blinked in surprise, "I am?"

It was at this point that classmate Yamanaka, who sat beside Rei, chimed in.

"What are you talking about Naruto? Shinji-kun isn't scary he's so…" she trailed off in a blush.

Naruto just shook his head, "you've never seen him fight Ino-chan."

Shinji just blushed a bit, "l-lets pay attention to the spar ok? You two might learn something."

They all nodded and concentrated on the match.

"Hmph," Asuka threw her ponytail over her shoulder, "let's get this over-"

"Don't worry Asuka-chan," Isobe interrupted and Rei saw Naruto flinch, "I'll show you what a _real_ man is like."

"And what does _that_ mean?" Asuka said calmly although Rei could feel the anger coming from her friend.

"I'll show you how great I am!" he shouted as he pointed his thumb up at himself before pointing at Shinji-kun with an expression that if Rei had to guess would be labeled 'smug.' "He's _nothing_ compared to me, look at him. What a useless wimp!"

Rei's eyes widened in shock as she felt an explosion of anger coming from Asuka, so much so that her head started to spin, simply unprepared for the explosion of raw emotion. The sheer intensity almost causing her to visibly recoil, her instincts told her to run away!

Rei knew Asuka is _very_ protective over Shinji, perhaps even more so than herself. She also knew that she regretted calling Shinji all the things she did call him and disliked it when Shinji is ever called anything similar by other people but… _'I seem to have been wrong in my initial estimation of how much Asuka hated her previous actions.'_

Uzumaki-kun in front of Shinji just shook his head before turning around to face them, "he's _so_ dead."

"Worry not Uzumaki-kun," she tried to reassure him and seemed to be failing judging from the expression on the blonde's face. "If Asuka were to…accidentally kill classmate Isobe it will prove inconvenient for Shinji-kun and myself. She will control herself to avoid such an outcome."

Uzumaki just blinked, "wow, I think that's the most I've ever heard you say Rei-chan…wait, isn't it bad if she kills him…well _because_ he's dead?"

"Naruto," Shinji said, "that's just Rei's way of trying to calm you down. Don't worry, Asuka won't kill him for something so petty." Then he muttered but all of them heard, "…I hope."

Before anyone could say anything Asuka's voice snapped their attention back to the match.

"That's it," Asuka growled with a glare that Isobe, in Rei's opinion, unwisely ignored. " _NOBODY_ and I _mean_ nobody insults Baka-Shinji but me."

"Settle down you two," their sensei ordered. "Bow," and they did so, "begin!"

Isobe drew two practice kunai, one in each hand, in a reverse grip and took a stance that seemed weak even to Rei. He seemed to be either trying to appear as big and as intimidating as possible, like Shinji had suggested, or someone just trying to imitate what he had seen in a movie… _'perhaps both.'_

Asuka grinned, her stance was in her normal relaxed stance, standing straight with her arms at her side, inviting the enemy to attack.

"Come on _stooge_ , show me how much of a _man_ you are."

Isobe charged and Asuka lunged to close the distance. Probably thinking he had the advantage against an unarmed opponent, a foolish notion common to civilians who usually fail to realize a shinobi's whole body is a weapon, swung both kunai knives in a horizontal scissor like motion. It came to no surprise to Rei when Asuka easily ducked under the _slow_ (for Rei at least) swing and with a sweep of her leg Isobe fell and with his forward momentum, flew over the crouched Asuka and skidded face first into the grass.

Rei could still feel the anger in Asuka, although now lessened as she calmly walked up to her downed opponent. She stopped and placed her hands on her hips, with her back turned to the class, and _spat_ on her opponent.

"Wow she must be really mad," Shinji murmured beside her, "usually she tries so hard to keep up appearances."

"Get up stooge. I haven't seen how _great of a man_ you are yet. All I see right now is a try-hard wannabe monkey."

Rei could see some of her classmates looking at their sensei with a look that she couldn't understand. Shinji spoke up, probably sensing her confusion but kept his attention on Asuka.

"Their surprised Rei, they probably expected sensei to say something about Asuka's…behavior."

"But he hasn't," Rei said.

"No he hasn't," Shinji agreed with a nod. "This is a close range spar meant to let us practice taijutsu and weapon skills but remember. The only rules on what you can't use are throwing and projectile weapons and no ninjutsu and that's just to simulate the possibility that we had ran too low on chakra. This isn't a martial arts spar, this is a spar between future shinobi, riling up the opponent so they make mistakes is a perfectly legitimate tactic."

Rei nodded and turned back to the match. Isobe had started to get up and Asuka took a few steps back.

"Oh woman up dweeb," Asuka shook her head with a smile, "come on, our class doesn't have all day! I still want to see Baka-Shinji in action."

Isobe threw his kunai, breaking the rules but Asuka just side stepped and lunged at him. Isobe saw this and tried to land a round house kick but even to Rei he might as well tried to have gently tapped Asuka with his foot and Asuka easily caught the limb with no effort. Her opponent just stared at her in shock as Asuka, without even a grunt of effort threw him into the air, the real impressive thing to Rei though is that Asuka hadn't reinforced herself with chakra yet and had just used her superior physical strength, something Rei lacked in comparison. Isobe screamed as he went up and as he went down.

Asuka was not done with him yet and just as he was about to hit the ground Asuka landed a spinning back kick that landed with a loud 'smack!' That sent the male student straight through the field's wooden fence in a shower of saw dust and splinters.

Silence fell on the crowd and Rei wasn't surprised, people were surprised when she herself knocked out her opponent with one punch and only a few light injuries, which she easily healed herself. Asuka's victory had been that much more impressive, flawless and with a bit of flair that Rei knew she couldn't quite match, not that it mattered to her though.

"G-good job Soryu-kun," sensei stuttered in response while another sensei who had been acting as a medic rushed over to the now unconscious Isobe's body.

' _I estimate a three week recovery period based on the level of medical treatment the average civilian family can afford,'_ Rei also made a mental note to go and see how correct she was, it would be a good chance to see how good her skills in diagnosing injuries by eye had gotten. While the boy upset her by badmouthing Shinji-kun he would prove useful at least, how fortunate.

"Woah," Rei heard classmate Yamanaka breath out while Uzumaki-kun just shook his head.

"Shinji Ikari! And…let's see who hasn't fought yet…Shino Aburame! You two are next!" their sensei called out as Asuka sat down.

Rei immediately stopped paying attention to her bond with Asuka and tried to consciously ignore it. If Asuka felt aroused at the mere thought of Shinji fighting…she isn't so sure if she could handle what her friend would feel as Shnji actually fought and she knew Shinji would do something impressive. While she wasn't at the meeting he was at with the rest of the Sarutobi clan, and he hadn't had time to brief Asuka and herself yet either, she could guess what the elders might have told him to do.

Such as do something impressive when a chance to spar against another opponent, especially a member of another clan such as the Aburame. If she learned anything from her old life and her life under the Commander of NERV it was that power meant everything and even shows of power meant a lot.

What better show than to display the superiority of one's clan than to show how capable it's younger generation is?

If Shinji did something really impressive then Rei doubted she could handle what Asuka would feel. She had just become comfortable holding hands with him and blushed furiously at the thought of just sleeping in the same bed.

An…amusing? Yes amusing, Rei decided, thought entered Rei's mind as Shinji walked to the weapon table to pick up a practice ninjato. _'Asuka always accuses Shinji of being a pervert but I sense more amorous_ _thoughts coming from her than from Shinji-kun.'_

"Well," Uzumaki-kun started as he turned around, "now you'll see Shinji-san in action, Ino-chan."

"Hey Naruto-kun, I've been curious," classmate Yamanaka started, "why do you call Shinji-kun 'Shinji-san' but you just call the other boys by just their name? Is he older than us?"

"Wha? Oh no. Just that I look up to him, he can kick butt and he's a good guy. Makes _really_ good ramen too!"

"You two know each other for a while?"

Naruto just shrugged with a sheepish smile, "he, Rei-chan and Asuka-san helped me out a few years ago. We hang out from time to time. You two know each other for a while?"

"I met him a few years ago at a meeting between the clans, Hokage-sama brought him along. Never seen him fight before though."

"Shh," Asuka told them to be quiet, "now you'll see what Re's and my Baka can do. Watch carefully Ino, because Shinji is _fast_."

The female blonde nodded and paid with close attention as did Uzumaki-kun, Asuka and Rei herself.

Shinji walked up to the middle of the field where classmate Aburame stood, quietly waiting. Aburame was a boy of average height who wore a grey long sleeved shirt with large brown buttons and a high collar that covered the entire bottom half of his face. Over it he wore a tannish grey long coat with a hood that covered his short brown hair, the same shade as Shinji, grey pants, the standard blue sandals and a pair of black shades. He stood calmly with his hands in his pockets. Rei looked on in interest, to her knowledge the Aburame are a clan who use insects, unusual and peculiar, she wondered how he would fare in a fight at close range with Shinji. The Aburame clan excelled in medium range combat while Shinji still needed to improve himself at that range, looking to use fuinjutsu and ninjutsu for that style of combat.

Then Rei realized that Shinji will actually be somewhat serious and frowned a bit, another spar she wouldn't learn anything from.

Shinji stood across from the young Aburame with a sheepish smile on his face.

"Hello again, Shino-san. How long has it been since the last clans meeting? 2 months?"

Re was surprised with how low for his age Shinji's opponent sounded.

"Yes it has, Shinji-san."

"I wish out first meeting since then didn't have us fighting but…well we do belong to shinobi clans after all," Shinji finished off quietly as his smile slipped off his face, donning the cold mask he wore when acting as a shinobi.

The young Aburame just nodded, apparently a quiet person like Rei herself while Shinji drew the practice ninjato, made a test swing, to test the balance and weight Rei guessed. The practice ninjato was much like the real ninjato that Yugao had gifted him years ago, the sword he still used as Shinji's body is still too small for using a full size katana.

That and Shinji wanted to forge his own sword.

Rei did notice though the difference even from where she sat. The practice weapon was obviously not made to the same high quality as the real weapon. It lacked a hamon for one, the visible pattern between the harder more brittle steel of the edge and the softer but more flexible steel of the sword's spine. The steel lacked the shine of Shinji's blade and the black sheath was dull and had no luster.

Still Shinji seemed to have been satisfied as he nodded before sheathing his practice weapon. He held the weapon by the scabbard in his left hand and stood in a relaxed stance, just like Asuka. Rei wasn't surprised by that, Asuka's taijutsu style and Shinji-kun's kenjutsu style were similar in many regards after all, they basically developed it side by side.

Still Rei knew from the way Shinji's arms were tense that he wasn't going to be as passive as Asuka was initially, waiting for the enemy to attack before doing so herself so she could use his momentum against him.

The young Aburame seemed to sense that his opponent was serious and took out a kunai and held it in his left hand in front of him in a guarding position.

"Ready?" sensei looked at both his students and they both made a shallow bow, "begin!"

Shinji exploded into action so fast that even Rei struggled to see him.

One step, he moved closer, his hand reaching for the sword's handle.

Second step, his hands gripped his sword, and he had closed half the distance between them.

Third step, he drew his sword in an iai strike, drawing the sword and cutting in one smooth lightning fast motion.

Fourth step and he was behind his opponent and he spun to face his back as the sword left the sheath.

There was no fifth step, it was already over.

In the span of a few heart beats, before his opponent could react Shinji had closed in, went past his guard, gotten behind him and now had the dull edge of the practice sword touching the back of his neck.

Silence once again filled the field as Rei blushed lightly from whatever it was that she was feeling coming from Asuka, still trying her hardest to ignore it.

Shinji broke the silence, his quiet, soft but cold voice carried like thunder in the silence, "I think I win, Shino-san."

His opponent just shakily nodded, sweat beading down his face.

' _The clan elders should be pleased,'_ Rei thought to herself, a little bitter that once again Shinji had to act according to the whims of old men.

"W-well done, Sarutobi-kun," their sensei remarked as Shinji bowed to both their sensei and his opponent, and quickly apologized to the Aburame even though he didn't really need to right before the school bell rang. "OK! That's it for today. See you all tomorrow, class dismissed!"

Rei stood up to join Shinji and Asuka, who had already leaped to his side, a little amused at Uzumaki-kun grumbling about him not having a chance to show off today.

* * *

 **Shinji's Home, Sarutobi Clan Compound, Konoha**

"Good night Rei," Shinji said softly as he held her hand. Rei herself is already lying in bed, all but her head and the one hand covered by the dark blue blanket.

"Good night Shinji-kun," she said in her usual soft tone before giving his hand a gentle squeeze which he returned.

He made sure not to do anything else though. Rei and Asuka really were opposites he thought, calm and passionate, blue and red. In the case of their relationship he knew he had to give Rei her space. Even once she moved past hand holding he doubted they would be a 'touchy-feely' couple. Rei had always been a very private person and he doubted that she would change that much even once she had grown out of her shell. Asuka though wanted the least amount of space between them as possible, much to his embarrassment.

After turning off the light in her room he closed the door and went off to the master bedroom.

Where he slept with _the_ Asuka Langley Soryu, pilot of Unit-02, fiery redhead and the exotic idol of Tokyo-3 Middle School and if they had stayed in their world just a bit longer then he knew she would be the idol of Tokyo-3 High School. They were so close to graduating after all.

Considering he's also in a relationship with the 'Ice Queen' Rei Ayanami he was pretty damn sure the male population of either school would beat him black and blue when word got out. Which wouldn't be long since he just _knew_ that Asuka would state their relationship on day one, the redhead always reminded him of a fierce animal and like all predators would probably mark what is 'hers.'

Then of course once the girls found out what the boys had done to him they'd probably beat them all half dead, with their Eva training he knew they could do it too.

Shinji shook his head, God it had been a long day. Look at how tired he is. Thinking all kinds of weird crap.

He reached his and Asuka's room and opened the door and blinked in surprise at the sight of Asuka sleeping, _'guess she's tired too?'_

She was lying in their bed, her untied fiery red hair pooled around her head. He couldn't see what she was wearing as she was mostly covered by the blanket. The room itself was already dark, it seems that Asuka had already turned off the light. Still, the room had a nice glow to it thanks to the soft moonlight coming from the window.

He made his way over to her as quiet as can be, and considering he's training to be a shinobi that meant he moved _very_ quietly. When he reached their bed he gently lifted the blanket, slid beside her and covered himself too, taking a moment to enjoy the comforting softness. Oh yes, being adopted by a powerful clan had it's benefits even if the elders tended to grate his nerves.

He glanced over at Asuka's back as he laid on his, debating whether to hold her or not. Unlike Rei he knew Asuka wouldn't feel uncomfortable but the act of taking advantage of his redhead's unaware state (even though he wouldn't really be doing anything indecent), his traditional Japanese sensibility and his own shyness brought him to the decision that he wouldn't do anything. So he closed his eyes and started to drift off to sleep.

He let out a _very_ masculine 'eep' when he felt something slide on top and straddle him. He opened his eyes and saw that Asuka had climbed on top of him, sitting on his waist with he legs on either side of his waist. She supported herself with her arms which were on either side of his head as she looked down on him. Well it seemed that she either faked being asleep or just woke up but he isn't quite sure, what he _is_ sure of is that she felt _annoyed_ right now. It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out, what with their bond and the absolutely ticked off look she had on her face.

So of course he did the first thing that came to his mind.

He apologized.

"Sorry!" he squeaked and she pinched his cheek, quite forcefully if he may add, and sighed with a half-hearted glare.

" _STOP,_ " she half-whispered half shouted, "apologizing all the time Baka. Seriously though would it kill you to hold me?"

"N-no?"

Her eye twitched, "I swear, how the hell did I fall for such a Baka?"

With a sigh she unceremoniously flopped on top of his chest, making him release a grunt as air came out of his lunges to which she gave a small laugh, enjoying his light suffering. Soon enough she slid off him and hugged his arm and nuzzled herself against his neck.

Damn, how did he get so lucky? Kensuke would die if he ever told the military otaku about nights like these.

"Hey Baka," she called but it came more like a mumble as she relaxed against him while he relaxed into the bed, finally letting his stress seep out. "You look like shit by the way."

"..."

She sighed, "are you tired because of all the attention at school or because of the meeting with the elders?"

"Both," he mumbled. He had never felt so much attention on him as he did today at the Academy and the meeting with the elders...the less that can be said about them the better.

"Anything from the meeting I should know?...you can just tell us tomorrow if you don't want to talk about it Shinji."

He shook his head tiredly. "Nothing outside the normal. Just instructing me to behave like a 'proper' Sarutobi and not to disgrace the clan. To make a show of any opponents in any spars, how unhappy they are that two non-clan members are living in the compound, how it goes outside of tradition, blah blah blah..."

* * *

Asuka blinked a few times when Shinji trailed off, as quiet as he could be he at least finished his sentences, finishing sentences short at odd times is Rei's thing.

She raised her head from its spot and saw him sleeping, the day must have really stressed him out. She really pitied him for being such an introvert sometimes, being so tired out by the stimulus from social interactions...and the clan elders didn't help any. When she's old enough to be appointed as one of his advisors she would make sure to attend those meetings too, gang up on her Baka will they?

She'll show them their mistake eventually.

Still now it's time for sleep, they have school tomorrow after all.

 **NEXT- V1 CHAPTER 2: GRADUATION DAY**

 **A/N**

 **For those wondering the V1 indicates that this is volume one of this story. Naruto being so long means that I have to break up this story or else I'll get bored if I write it continuously.**

Yes it's not dead! Sorry that this took so long. This was supposed to be released a few weeks ago actually but uni started and that took up some time.

Destiny: The Taken King releasing did NOT in ANY way factor into this.

Nope.

Honest.

Fun as hell though.

So dumb they didn't add Gjalli and Ice Breaker to Year 2, just when I finally get a Gjalli of my own.

Then my computer broke (again) and I lost the entire last part of this chapter (the part of SHinji and Asuka in bed) as well as 2k words of SNPR's next chapter so I just didn't feel like writing for a bit due to frustration.

For this chapter I just wanted to do some everyday things and talk about the situation Shinji, Asuka and Rei find themselves in plus hinting at some of Shinji's future skills. And in the end I wanted a fight that's purpose isn't to show fighting ability but show off some of Asuka being...Asuka, in a fight while showing that Shinji while in a good position isn't as free as he may like.

If anyone is concerned about all the fights being melee and weapon only don't worry, we'll see some actual ninjutsu from Shinji, Asuka and Rei next chapter. They'll me using a lot of original ninjutsu, more so as they grow older and face better enemies.

As for those worried about the Children being overpowered please remember they are facing off against children while they do have combat experience as Eva pilots and are taking their shinobi training VERY seriously with minds much more mature than that of their peers.

Next time we have the start of Naruto proper! How will Shinji, Rei and Asuka fair? Well no real surprise in that they WILL graduate with no trouble, but who will be their Jonin-sensei? I've already chosen, and its a super secret ninja...secret.

For my next update expect SNPR and Wagtails followed by Toy Soldier. No time table though b/c of school, Persona 4:Dancing All Night (which I just got today!), Destiny and in the future Star Wars: Battlefront and Fallout 4. Plus I'm also looking for a new job to get a new laptop, as this one is one its last legs.

See you all next time!


	3. V1 Chapter 2: Graduation Day!

**V1 Chapter 2: Graduation Day!**

 **Sarutobi Residence, Konoha**

"Mmm," the now 14 year old Shinji moaned ash his eyes fluttered open looking quite different from the first time he was 14. Gone was the skinny boy who first stumbled his way into Evangelion Unit-01, due to the constant training Shinji was extremely fit for his age, his loose sleeping clothes hiding the lean build years of practicing swordsmanship had produced.

The former Third Child looked down and smiled at the now very familiar sight of a messy mop of fiery red hair. He honestly didn't know what happened more often, Asuka having her head on her pillow or on him. She had her arms wrapped around him in a loving embrace and, as if sensing him stirring awake, she tightened her grip and muttered something he couldn't quite catch clearly.

Something about…him becoming a devil with a harem of his own? He raised a brow at that and chuckled softly, what kind of absurd and unrealistic dream was she having? Really? Asuka then tightened her grip on his torso, mumbling about him building a harem of aliens, and he couldn't help but blush as her soft breasts pressed up against him. In the years since they had first started at The Academy she had grown quite a bit, now resembling how she was during the Angel War for the most part. Her body was just as mature and developed for her age as it was last time, more so even due to the fitness level required of kunoichi and Shinji would be lying if he said he hadn't admired his girlfriend's shinobi body on more than one occasion.

How many times had he fantasized about being this close to her in the past?

He really was a lucky bastard wasn't he?

He gave her a loving squeeze back and crooned his head down to give the top of her head a soft kiss, while he was still prone to being flustered in public in private settings like this he was fine…well for the most part. Asuka could be quite the Misato level tease when she was awake.

He then turned his head to the right and smiled as he saw the peaceful sleeping face of Rei Ayanami, some of her chin length light blue hair covering her face as she held his right hand in one of hers. She wasn't lying as close to him as Asuka was, although considering Asuka snuggled right up to him that wasn't saying much, having some space between himself with Asuka and Rei. Still he respected her space, she was her own person and unlike he and Asuka she really was going through puberty for the first time and the hormonal rush that came with it due to Akagi and his father stunting her with drugs in their previous life. At least he and Asuka knew what to expect for the most part.

The former First Child of NERV had also grown to a similar appearance as she had in her old life and just like Asuka it could be argued she looked even better than before due to needing to be in top shape, Shinji would certainly say so. Honestly he was rather glad she was comfortable sleeping with him and Asuka now, Rei was never the type to complain so if she had nightmares he and Asuka would never know so hopefully their presence was keeping any of those at bay just like how it worked for he and Asuka when they first started to share a bed. That said he was also glad that Rei wasn't snuggling up to him just yet.

There was only so much his self-control during puberty could take!

Still, as happy waking up beside two warm bodies made him…he still needed to get out of Rei's soft hand and Asuka's vice like embrace and out of bed to start breakfast without waking either of them, _specially_ Rei.

Luckily he had his shinobi training.

So without a sound and in a blur of movement he performed the Substitution Jutsu, a basic shinobi skill, to switch places with Rei. Normally a bit of smoke would accompany the technique in the field to conceal his movements but that was unneeded here.

Softly landing right at the door he looked around to check his handy work and was glad to see his two housemates still sound asleep, it was safe to say he was the stealthiest of the group and mornings like these really helped keep it that way. Rei was where he was with Asuka's head resting on her generous br-Shinji shook his head, _'bad hormones! BAD!'_

He quickly turned on his heels and made his way to the door, ignoring the amusing and…pleasing sight in their now shared bedroom.

Just because he knew what to expect with his hormones doesn't mean he wasn't affected.

"Cold shower it is this morning," he murmured.

* * *

 **Academy, Konoha**

"Iruka-sensei!" the classroom door slammed open as the class and their chunin-sensei turned to see one of his co-workers, hand against the door and panting. "It's Naruto! _Again_!"

"Gottverdamnt," Asuka quietly growled as she sat in her seat before she flicked her pony tail over her shoulder. Her manner of dress had changed since she first started going to The Academy as she now wore a sleeveless red silk qipao style top with yellow accents that hid a sleeveless mesh armor shirt underneath. Along with that she also wore a pair of tight black short shorts with a dark brown belt where she had clipped on various pouches behind her while two double kunai holsters were on her left and right side. She had forgone the traditional shinobi sandals worn by shinobi from virtually every village in exchange for a pair of high cut almost knee high black boots with steel toe guards for kicking. The fingerless gloves that Yugao had given her though had become too small for her and had been replaced with a pair of standard black shinobi fingerless gloves with a metal plate knuckle guard while her hair was now tied with a black and white stripped ribbon. It was once again from Rei. "The day before the graduation test and he starts shit."

Rei on the other hand just quietly sat, her trademark expression on her face, on the side of Shinji opposite to Asuka. She wasn't too surprised that Naruto had raised a fuss _again_ nor was she particularly annoyed like Asuka was, this happened all the time. In fact it had escalated in recent years.

Unlike Asuka though her hair had not changed from her old life, still the same short chin length cut she had always preferred. Her manner of dress though had changed as she now wore a light blue yukata with a dull silver and light pink floral print and sleeves that were long enough to hide her hands. A simple red obi was tied around her waist and into a bow behind her back. Like Asuka she too had foregone the standard sandals, instead choosing to wear a pair of high cut black boots similar to the ones Asuka used without the metal reinforcements. Finishing up her normal attire was a black leather choker with a small metal red cross chained on to it that was given to her by Asuka. Just like Asuka she too wore a sleeveless mesh armor shirt hidden under her clothes but unlike Asuka Rei's equipment such as pouches and kunai holsters were hidden by her clothes.

Shinji just moaned in annoyance and closed his eyes while massaging the bridge of his nose. As for his clothing he dressed much simpler than both Rei and Asuka with a dark violet long sleeved shirt with '01' printed in white over his right breast with a short sleeved mesh armor shirt underneath, a black scarf, grey pants and a black belt. Most of his pouches were clipped onto his belt like Asuka while a pair of double kunai holsters were strapped onto both of his thighs. Just like Asuka and Rei he too had chosen to go without the traditional sandals, choosing instead a pair of black combat boots that gave more protection to his feet. The ninjato he was given by Yugao was still with him, hung by a cord on the back of his seat

"What has he done _this_ time?" Iruka asked with a defeated sigh.

"He's started to draw on the Hokage Monument!" the other chunin-sensei replied, "in _PAINT!_ "

Rei stiffened in her seat as her eyes slowly drifted onto the form of her boyfriend beside her to see him looking down, deathly still, the shadow cast by his hair covering his eyes. She could feel the emotions running through the bond and it was... _intense_ annoyance and anger. Leaning forward she looked at Asuka who was grinning away and quietly sighed.

"THAT-gah!" Iruka threw his clipboard on the floor with a 'twack' and motioned the other sensei to go back to his previous duties. Iruka himself lamented Naruto's timing as he was just about to go over the graduation exam with his class, so not was he only _late_ but he was wasting the other kids' time. He was about to go and grab his most rambunctious student himself before he got a much better idea. Naruto didn't really fear him and with the last day of the school year coming very soon he couldn't do much against him, he certainly wouldn't fail him on the exam just as punishment.

That didn't mean there wasn't _something_ he could do.

There was two people Naruto feared after all.

So he turned to the trio with the two people in it to see an obviously annoyed Asuka, a frighteningly calm looking Shinji and a somewhat bored looking Rei.

"Shinji, Asuka, Rei," he gave them all a mischievous smile that sent chills down some of his students spines but not the trio he was speaking too, "would you _kindly_ and as _gently_ as possible bring Naruto back?"

Shinji and Asuka replied with a "yes sensei" while Rei just gave them a calm nod.

Asuka got up and stretched, showing off her body a bit. Of course none of the boys even dared a look, they had learned long ago the _hard_ way what that earned you.

Getting the memory blasted right out of your skull with a casual punch from the class' most feared girl.

Shinji just got up, a cold and calm look on his face. He calmly reached down and picked up his trusty ninjato and unsheathed the blade and was satisfied to see it was still as sharp as a razor before he calmly returned it to its sheath.

Rei just tilted her head and made a mental check on what medical supplies she had on hand and frowned a bit as she realized she may not have enough considering the cold fury she felt pouring off _Shinji_. After years of being with Asuka she knew to always be ready to treat blunt impact trauma and the odd burn but she wasn't quite prepared for lacerations on the scale of what Shinji could do when in one of his rare angry moods. She hoped Asuka would help her hold him back if he was that angry...she blinked, did she just trust Asuka to be the one with a level head?

In the end she just shrugged as she came to a very Rei-type realization: the hospital wasn't too far and if anything Asuka could just burn a wound closed as a stop-gap if it was too bad so there was no logical reason to worry.

As Iruka saw what they all did before body flickering away he started to think that _perhaps_ he hadn't done the responsible thing… _'Naruto please don't be stupid enough to paint on the Third Hokage's face…'_

* * *

 **Hokage Monument**

"Shut up you idiots!" Naruto shouted as he dangled off the face of the Hokage Monument where the faces of all of the village's hokage have been carved, past and present, dressed in a black shirt, bright orange track pants and blue shinobi sandals, his orange track jacket tied around his waist while a pair of green goggles rested on his forehead. Most of the faces of the hokage were covered in various crude paint drawings and even a few obscene remarks in sloppy text. "None of you guys can do something this horrible. But you know _who_ can?! ME! Because I _am_ INCREDIBLE!" he shouted down at all the people who had gathered on the roof of the Academy and were shouting angry sayings at him.

"Damn brat!"

"You'll get yours for this!"

"Damnit, every fucking DAY!"

"I'm getting too old for this," the Hokage sighed as he arrived on the roof dressed in the traditional white robes of the Kage, the leaders of the five great hidden shinobi villages. He also had his diamond shaped hat with a white vale covering the sides and back of his head on and since he was the Hokage his was red with the kanji for 'fire' printed at the front. "What did he do this time?"

The man known as one of the strongest of the Kage looked up to see…his face and the face of all Hokages past painted on and he just sighed. He could already sense three chakra signatures coming and he knew who they were.

Soon enough three young bodies body flickered onto the roof, Asuka with her ponytail blowing in the breeze while Shinji's scarf and Rei's yukata softly fluttered in the wind.

"Oh," Shinji blinked as the Hokage turned around to see his adopted son giving a small respectful bow, "good morning father."

Asuka and Rei quickly gave a bow of their own to the man who was pretty much a father to them as well. While the old shinobi was usually too busy to spend any time with Shinji (and by extension them since they basically came packaged together) he was quite fatherly in the rare times they ran into each other.

"Good morning Hokage-sama," the two girls greeted.

The old Hokage just smiled at the trio, "good morning Shinji, and good morning to you two as well."

Naruto, who had been boasting even as the Hokage arrived, froze as he heard him greet Shinji good morning and looked and his blood chilled at what he saw.

Shinji-san, the kind and quiet kid he looked up to like a brother, was _pissed._ Oh he looked calm enough. Growing up to be the son of the Third Hokage, even if he was adopted, meant he had to learn a few things for dealing with clan politics with a poker face being chief among them. Still, Naruto's survival instinct screamed he was angry.

It didn't help that Asuka was grinning at him like a cat that caught the canary while Rei had pulled a first-aid kit out of seemingly nowhere.

Naruto blinked-

"What?" he squinted as he noticed Asuka was gone, _'where did she-'_

*Thud!* He heard something land above him and he looked up…to see Asuka somehow standing _on_ the Hokage Monument's vertical face, her boots sticking to the rock face, a kunai in her hand.

Before Naruto could say anything, like beg for mercy or ask her _how the_ _hell had she done that_ , Asuka grabbed the rope with her free hand before severing it, freeing Naruto who hung under her like a piñata before dashing down onto the roof with the host of the Nine Tails in tow. As she landed on the roof, dropping Naruto on his stomach in front of Shinji with a 'thud', she kneeled down in front of Shinji in a clearly submissive position. It was something she definitively would have never done in her old life but she was well aware of the precarious position Shinji held within the Sarutobi clan, more so since Shinji's nephew Konohamaru was born shortly after they were adopted. With that they feared Shinji becoming 'redundant' in the eyes of the council, after all with only a 4 year difference they were more or less a part of the same generation. It was only Shinji's skills that kept most of the council's wrath away from them.

She and Rei had long agreed that with Shinji providing their group's political backing with his position in a powerful clan, they would become his aids in return. They would not let any of them suffer alone, not again. Besides they both knew Shinji didn't like them behaving subservient to him, even if they did so rarely, only when there was a gain for Shinji like now in the presence of some of the village's leaders. Shinji's clear displeasure at Naruto's defacing of his…well father's face on the monument was a good opportunity to do just that. Shinji was mad and Asuka made sure to make a show of her helping him express that displeasure.

It was work yes, balancing the close relationship they all had as partners along with the needs of playing politics but it was worth the effort in Rei and Asuka's eyes, even if Shinji begged to differ.

"Thank you Asuka," Shinji nodded, reluctantly playing his part before he turned to Naruto. "Good morning Naruto," Shinji greeted and Naruto looked up to see Shinji giving him a smile that made Naruto sweat, a smile Shinji had copied from Asuka's own, and much more terrifying in Shinji's opinion, 'too sweet' smile.

"G-good morning S-Shinji-san," Naruto stammered out.

"Are you the one that painted graffiti all over my father's face on the monument?" and Naruto paled at that question, turned around and paled even more.

Honestly Asuka had to fight back her laughter as she got up and stood beside her boyfriend, Shinji loved and respected the Third Hokage for taking all of them into the village and even adopting him. Forgetting that fact, something quite well known among their generation, was a big boo boo in Asuka's opinion.

"Ah...aha ha ha...Y-y-yes?"

"I see," Shinji nodded, "I see…" and _slowly_ unsheathed his ninjato causing Naruto to go snow white.

Asuka just smiled a victorious smile, she had spent quite a bit of effort trying to get Shinji to let out this side of himself out more. Sure she would have preferred if more things set him off but boy did she love when something managed to do just that, _ngh!_

Rei just calmly stood there, a part of her finding some amusement in this. She tilted her head, _'I suppose Asuka is rubbing off on me as well. What was the term for enjoyment gained from another's misfortune?...Ah, yes. .'_

Schadenfreude.

* * *

 **Academy**

"Sorry if I hit you too hard Naruto," Shinji apologized as Asuka dragged Naruto, battered and bruised, behind them after he had had the chance to cool down.

"It's fine," Naruto responded, knowing that if he took even a second to think and made the smart move to just paint on the faces _other_ than the Third Hokage's Shinji would have done nothing but vocally reprimand him. _That_ said Asuka would still have been annoyed if that was the case and he honestly didn't know what he feared more, the rarely pissed Shinji or an annoyed Asuka. "Sorry for painting on your dad's face…and thanks for just using the back of the sword. I should have thought it out a bit more."

"In my Baka's defense," Asuka started, "we've been trying to pound it in your head to think _before_ you act and not _after_ for the past how many years."

"Yes," Rei chimed in, "I was not prepared for treating lacerations, it would have been…bothersome."

"That," Naruto turned pale, "isn't comforting Rei-chan."

Soon enough they arrived in the class room.

* * *

 **Shinji's Residence, Sarutobi Clan Compound**

"Ready to leave Shinji-sama?" Dragon asked as she stood in the living room of the Hokage's adopted child. She was dressed in, as always when the Children saw her, the standard ANBU uniform with her distinctive short faced dragon style white porcelain mask on her face while she absent mindedly played with her dark violet hair tied into a long low ponytail. Other than that though the woman, whom was currently the one on Shinji's security detail, was the very image of professionalism like all ANBU were when they were wearing their mask.

"I am," Shinji sighed, dressed in his usual attire, before turning back to Rei and Asuka who were relaxing in more casual attire of one of Shinji's shirts and a pair of shorts for Asuka and a sleeveless yellow shirt and pajamas for Rei. "I should be back by dinner time."

"Yes yes," Asuka sighed and waved him off, "don't worry your head _Baaaka_ , you have enough to worry about with the clan council. I'll keep Rei out of the kitchen."

Rei frowned at the jab, she wasn't that bad of a cook…was she? Her food was edible at the least.

Shinji nodded, "take care you two."

And with that the two left and Asuka sighed in annoyance.

"Tomorrow Asuka," Rei started and Asuka looked at her, eyebrow raised.

"What do you mean Rei?"

"After tomorrow, once we graduate and become real Konoha shinobi we can escort him to the meetings ourselves," Rei explained. They had both wanted to accompany Shinji to the meetings themselves instead of having to let him go alone…well he always had one ANBU bodyguard but considering they hid themselves when out in public they still felt Shinji was 'alone' as a result.

* * *

"Oh yeah, work it Baka Shinji," Asuka licked her lips hungrily as she watched the scene in front of her, the sound of steel striking steel filling the early morning air.

The former Second Child sat at a picnic table in the back yard of the house she shared with her fellow former Evangelion pilots. Unlike most of the time though she wasn't dressed in her usual attire meant to both to flatter her figure, which she's quite happy to see is just as mature for her age as it was previously, and for ease of movement. Instead she's currently dressed in a simple pair of black short shorts and a red tank top while her fiery red hair was left untied. She had no plans to train today and while of course she still had weapons hidden on her person like any good shinobi, something that was easy to do when your boyfriend practiced fuinjutsu, she was dressed to relax. She really didn't want to do anything too straining today.

So she chose to relax outside since the weather was so nice. In front of her was Shinji and Rei who were doing some weapon training. Shinji with a katana and Rei with a kunai, both were blunt training weapons of course, with their edges smeared in red lipstick to show 'cuts' afterwards. Specifically they were doing close combat weapons training, hence the hint of frustration on the still usually stoic face of Rei Ayanami. They were also dressed simply with Rei in a white shirt and grey track pants while Shinji wore a white shirt and red short. That was Asuka's idea since Shinji usually preferred to dress like Rei in track clothes or his usual outfit when practicing.

' _And what a shame that would have been,'_ she thought with a lick of her lips, her suggested form of clothing let her see her boyfriend's body move with an almost liquid grace as he sweated slightly in exertion. Combine that with how his white shirt had started to cling to him, his quick breathing and her finding him _hot_ when he was fighting and… _'phew, is it getting hot in here or is it just me?'_

Shinji really was good with a sword, knife, anything even remotely sharp and/or pointy in close combat really and it showed as Rei struggled to protect herself. All three of them acknowledged that while skilled compared to shinobi their age, or even quite a few older than themselves, Rei was weak in close combat so it was something they worked on quite regularly.

It was not a practice Rei enjoyed doing really, _ever_ , she was already covered in red marks while the only red marks she had landed were smeared on Shinji practice katana, a sign of countless blocks and parries.

She held her kunai in an icepick grip and went for a slash. *Clang!* Which Shinji parried easily and he did not hold back, even when practicing against Rei. His sword was a lot heavier than her kunai and his hard parry set a shock down her arms and the former First Child felt it ring in her bones, causing her to grit her teeth in frustration. She pumped chakra in her left arm and launched a fist in Shinji's direction, hoping to make him fall back but in her frustration she forgot that in the years since they first met Naruto Shinji's fighting style had shifted slightly, becoming more aggressive. So she gasped in surprise as instead of Shinji backing off he charged right for her and grabbed her extended wrist, trapping her in her attack and using her own momentum to pull her towards his single handed-thrust.

"Shit," she softly swore, an event so rare it caught Shinji off guard, letting Rei use her lessons with Asuka to just barely avoid the thrust and do an over the shoulder judo throw on her former half-brother. Instead of slamming him into the ground though she just gave him more space, since _he_ was the one grabbing her and not the other way around during the throw he simply let go and made a graceful back-flip before going back into an attack stance.

The former Third Child moved with a polished grace that made the boy who had saved Naruto when they were children and defeated a genin several years his elder seem like an unskilled civilian as he attacked Rei with a katana in hand while Rei drew a second kunai.

Shinji, seeing a chance sent a straight thrust into a gap in Rei's guard which she avoided by twisting her torso, not wanting to hold back since that would teach Rei nothing he transitioned into an icepick grip and made a quick horizontal slash. Rei attempted to pull back to gain space to work with but he used his one now free hand to pick up a kunai Rei had dropped and threw it at her. That caught Rei off guard, causing her to have to lean back to dodge the weapon and by the time she went to stand up she had Shinji's dull blade at her throat.

"…I *pant* concede…" Rei said as she breathed deeply.

"You did well Rei," Shinji smiled at her, he had seen a bit of disappointment leak into her eyes and the corner of her lips tug downwards slightly so he decided to encourage her. He wasn't lying either, he had confidence Rei could either defeat or hold off most enemies long enough for help to arrive if forced into melee combat if not win by herself outright. After all in the field she wasn't limited to her taijutsu and kunai, her ninjutsu and genjutsu was no joke. Besides he specialized in the very style of combat they had just practiced, if he lost then something had gone wrong with him, "so cheer up."

"Thank you," Rei blushed and walked back a few steps to pick up the training kunai that Shinji threw at her.

Shinji blushed too as Rei bent down, they had been training for the better part of the morning and so had gotten quite sweaty. Due to that her white shirt clung to her body and had turned see through and considering how Rei, just like she was in their old world, was quite…gifted in her chest Shinji couldn't help but look.

Asuka of course saw this and huffed with a little bit of jealousy. Oh sure she had long accepted the nature of their little threesome but that didn't mean she wasn't at all immune to a bit of jealousy. Unlike before though where she was enraged by it and ignored it she had grown to accept it now. In fact she had used it to fuel a little game for herself and with that little game in mind she smirked a bit as an idea came to her.

"Hey Baka Shinji!" she called out as she shifted herself up to sit on the table of the picnic table itself.

That snapped Shinji out of his hormone fueled staring.

"Yes Asuka?" he said as he turned to face his other girlfriend…the fact that he had even just one, never mind two, still amazed him.

"See something you like?" her smirk grew as she made a show of leaning back and crossing her legs one atop of the other, making sure to make a show of it. She knew Rei had her beat in the breast department, which irked her a little bit, but she knew that in the legs and overall body tone she won out due to her preference for taijutsu. That said Shinji's tone wasn't bad either and while he gawked at her she basically stripped him in her mind now that he wasn't dashing around.

When Shinji turned a deeper shade of red and started to do his best impression of a fish on dry land she fought the urge to laugh down and let him enjoy this little show, a cat grin on her face.

' _Ah, turning his cute little head into mush is just TOO much fun,'_ Asuka thought to herself with amusement _. 'Asuka and Rei: 1, Baka Shinji: 0.'_

"Hey Wondergirl!" Asuka called out and Rei turned to her with her head cocked slightly to the side in the silent typically Rei show of curiosity that Asuka and Shinji and…well basically whoever met her found to be cute as hell.

"Yes?" Rei asked as she now stood beside and slightly to the front of Shinji, she had been watching his face turn red due to Asuka's display, wondering what was going on. She understood Asuka was flirting with Shinji but due to this being her first puberty and this being her first time in a romantic relationship she wasn't quite sure how to do it yet. So Rei being Rei she decided to just watch Asuka and Shinji and learn from them.

Since in Rei's opinion, Asuka and Shinji grew up with a 'normal' childhood, unlike herself.

Take that however you will.

"Nice team work," Asuka answered which confused Rei and Asuka sighed when she saw it, "I'll explain another time."

"Thank you Asuka," Rei smiled her little smile and Asuka's cheeks pinked a little. Rei missed this though as she turned to Shinji as she sensed familiar chakra signatures approach their home. "Shinji-kun Yugao-san, Kakashi-san and Asuma-san are here."

* * *

"Thanks for the food Shinji," Asuma sighed as he leaned back in his seat, content with another well done meal. Currently he was at the dining room of his adoptive little brother's home sitting in between Kakashi and Yugao, the two people who had probably had the biggest impact on the lives of the three children who sat opposite the three jonin. While having breakfast at his adopted little brother's home was actually a regular, at minimum monthly, affair the young genin-to-be's cooking still impressed him.

"Of course, what else would you expect?" Yugao grinned before leaning forward and ruffling Shinji's hair and making him blush in embarrassment. She too regularly had breakfast at the Shinji-Asuka-Rei household, sometimes with Asuma like today, but she did so as often as she could. "Anyone who can make food good enough for _him,_ " she motioned to her former ANBU captain, "eat slow enough to show that face he always hides is the Kage of the kitchen."

Kakashi just nodded in agreement, Shinji's cooking was just that good. In his list of favorite things it ranked just below the 'Make Out Tactics' series of books. Unlike when the children first met him he was no longer in the ANBU uniform, having left the group years ago. Now he was dressed mostly in the standard uniform of Konoha shinobi of dark blue long sleeved shirt, dark blue shinobi pants and green flak jacket like Asuma. Unlike the other jonin he was covering the lower half of his face with a dark blue face mask and his Konoha headband was tied slanted, covering one of his eyes.

"So," Yugao started as she took a sip of her coffee, Shinji subconsciously mirroring the action. That amused the other two jonins, Shinji really had turned out to be like a male mini-Yugao. Both love swords, are cold as steel in combat, and are kind and loving in everyday life. "How does it feel to be on the verge of being genin?"

"And let's be honest, you three are going to pass. Good luck regardless though," Asuma commented with a raising of his coffee mug.

"I'd say it's about time!" Asuka blew a stray strand of hair away from her face before, "Being in the academy was so _boring_!"

"Uh huh," Kakashi finally chimed in, his eyes not leaving his book. "It was boring so you sent a dozen kids to the hospital over the years you attended?"

"Pfft," Asuka waved him off, "they had it coming."

"…I'm sure."

"Shinji, Rei, what about you two?" Yugao asked the more quiet and most quiet of the young threesome. "Do you have any jonin-sensei you two would like to have?"

"Well," Shinji started, "Asuma-nii would be nice but I'm sure he would be given Ino-san, Shikamaru and Choji." He knew well the relationship between the three clans the three children were heirs to and his own adoptive clan, the Sarutobi. Plus being under family, adoptive or not, would possibly give signals of favoritism on the part of the Hokage who held final say over the genin teams. That was something he and the Hokage both knew the Sarutobi clan council would not like.

"Well we," Asuma started before nudging towards Kakashi, "don't know until the day we get our team assignments so I wouldn't count it out just yet. It would be fun having you kids, if anything I wouldn't have to spend a lot of time doing boring D-rank missions with you three."

The three children, even Rei who did so much more subtly, cringed at the thought of spending any amount of time doing D-rank missions. Ever since they had learned of Kakashi's exit from the ANBU force and re-entry into the regular Shinobi Forces as a jonin-sensei and Asuma's decision to take on the same role himself they had asked both of them of what they did with their genin teams. Well what Asuma did with his teams. Kakashi himself had never passed a genin team assigned to him, rejecting them all and sending them back to the academy, so he was more jonin-sensei in name at the moment as he performed the role of a normal jonin due to not having genins of his own.

From what they've heard from Asuma D-rank missions sounded absolutely awful.

In terms of difficulty D-rank was the easiest rating a mission could be given after the request was processed by village leaders, in fact they were so easy Asuka refused to call them missions at all and referred to them as 'jobs' instead. They were the most common missions that villages gave out and were usually the quickest and safest to complete and were assigned almost exclusively to a village's genin with their jonin-senseis being the only other shinobi to really do them. In fact it was expected for a genin entering the chunin exams, _after_ already spending a few years as a genin, to have many _many_ D-ranks under their belt with perhaps only one or two C-rank missions. D-rank missions offered very little, most often _zero,_ risk to the shinobi performing them with no real possibility of combat of any kind. These 'missions' were usually the nature of various miscellaneous tasks such as repairing fences, weeding a garden, baby sitting and if one were _lucky_ they would have to clear a house of pests.

At least then they could have _some_ kind of action.

What made the children cringe though was the horror story of Tora, the cat the Daimyo of the Country of Fire (the home country of Konoha) had given to his wife a couple of years ago. According to Asuma the poor cat's owner is…over affectionate with Tora, to put things politely, which causes the cat to routinely escape and his owner to issue request after request to bring her back. As a result the cat had become quite quick and agile to escape genin as long as possible, jonin-sensei's usually not finding it worth their time to interfere past coordinating their teams, if that. Even when caught the feline fought tooth and nail for freedom, biting and scratching many a genin.

From what they had heard the 'Retrieve Tora ALIVE' mission had become a rite of passage of some kind.

…Needless to say Rei, Shinji and Asuka had a few plans already prepared already for Tora just in-case they would also get slammed by the mission.

"Heard of Tora I see," Asuma smirked, oh that was a fun mission to watch genin do.

"Who hasn't," Yugao grumbled, "you know her owner once tried to get ANBU to get her damn cat back?" She rubbed her temples, "seriously, the ANBU Black Ops, the best of the best. Shinobi who are assigned at the _minimum_ A-rank missions! Trying to find a cat? Ugh…"

Kakashi just placed a hand on her shoulder, as the previous captain of Team Rho he knew all too well what she was talking about.

The wife of the Daimyo _really_ liked cats and her husband knew it.

"What about Kurenai?" she changed topics before she went out and assassinated the cat that caught her ire. Rei answered her question.

"It would be beneficial for my training," Rei's quiet voice sounded in her typical calm tone with a touch of thoughtfulness, "Kurenai-sensei is skilled in genjutsu."

"Her specialty," Kakashi nodded.

"What about my old captain?" Yugao asked, nudging the reading jonin.

"Well," Asuka started, "it wouldn't be so bad, he already teaches us sometimes." Shinji and Rei nodded at that. "Still, if he does become our actual sensei I hope he starts showing up on time. Isn't that right, Hentai-sensei?" she smiled a sweet smile at the jonin in question whose one visible eye twitched at the nickname the girl had given him once she found out what his books were about.

"I would have no complaints," Kakashi wouldn't mind teaching the three. They were already familiar with the importance of team work so he wouldn't even need to run his favorite bell test.

He shivered as he remembered overhearing the kids plan for a similar kind of test after they had heard stories of the test the Third Hokage created. While he could survive what they had in mind…he did _not_ want to explain to the Hokage why a simple test resulted in the destruction of an entire training ground.

* * *

 **The Academy**

Rei looked at the Konoha head band, _her_ Konoha head band, that she now held in her hand. A ghost of a smile appeared on her face as she walked out of the classroom after her graduation test. The headband was much like those of other shinobi villages, a rectangular metal plate with the village symbol engraved into it (in this case the Konoha leaf) on a cloth head band, in this case the same shade of blue that many Konoha shinobi shirts were.

"Earth to Wondergirl" Asuka's voice snapped Rei out of her wanderings. "How was it?"

Rei looked up to see Asuka waiting for her, leaning on a locker in the hallway, her arms crossed across her chest and a leg propped up against the wall as she was dressed in her preferred attire.

"Easy," came Rei's short response and Asuka rolled her eyes, not expecting much more than that.

"Were you disappointed Rei?" Asuka asked as she started to play with her hair and Rei noticed that Asuka had chosen to wear her headband around her neck, tied loosely like a scarf. She raised a curious brow at that, silently asking a question. After years of practice reading her Asuka caught it and followed her line of sight. "Oh, this? Why…are there rules on how to wear these? I think it looks kinda cute like this."

Rei wasn's surprised at the question, unlike herself and Shinji Asuka didn't care much for the rules she dubbed as 'minor'.

"No," came Rei's short reply.

"Good, 'cause I'm going to have Shinji replace the cloth band with a red one. Seriously, he cooks, cleans and can sow; maybe we're the husbands and he's our wife?"

Rei gave her a smile at that, not a small one, but a rare 'proper' smile and Asuka blushed again while laughing at the joke.

Eventually Rei stood beside Asuka, waiting for the last member of their trio, her headband still in her hand.

"…I was disappointed you know," Asuka started.

Rei blinked, "about the test?"

"Yeah…I mean I don't know what I was expecting but just the Clone Jutsu? I mean, come on! At least make it challenging right Rei?"

Rei blinked in confusion at that and cocked her head to the side, "you wanted a chance to fail?"

Asuka snapped her head at Rei's direction, did she really think they could fail? Asuka carefully reigned in her anger, reminding herself that Rei didn't mean to offend her and she took a deep breath…and counted to ten before exhaling. "…No Rei, I am not. NO chance we would fail after all we've been through if these kids can get through."

"...It is considered the most difficult E-rank ninjutsu taught at the Academy though, requiring good chakra control and concentration."

"I know but...I...I just…" she sighed, "I don't feel like _I_ accomplished anything" She tapped at her headband, "after all we've learned to do…this is how we become real shinobi? Gottverdamnt _Ninja?_ "

Rei nodded and let Asuka continue, she didn't know what to say but she had learned that sometimes all you needed to do was listen.

"I mean think about it, when I punch someone I can turn their insides into jelly, I can fucking breath fire like a dragon!" She then pointed at Rei, "you can heal wounds like magic Rei! And play with ice like that Disney princess from that movie…forgot the name, and our wife is like a human battery with a sword!"

"When you put it like that…" Rei nodded, finally understanding what had gotten Asuka upset. "It was no challenge." Rei thought about this morning where she fought Shinji and lost and tried to imagine how it would have felt to have landed a 'cut' on him, how proud of herself she would feel…and how even more frustrated if that happened and she found out he wasn't fighting her seriously…

"Finally," Asuka sighed as she noticed Rei thinking to herself and smiled a proud smile at her 'sister', living with Rei was interesting, seeing her constantly growing as a person. "How are you going to wear that anyway?" she pointed at Rei's headband and Rei simply tied it very loosely around her neck just like Asuka. That surprised her, she expected Rei to wear it around her forehead. That was the standard way to wear it as it was intended to offer some protection to the head, Asuka found the notion hilarious as any real skilled shinobi would render it useless.

"Good?" Rei turned to her and Asuka smiled.

"Damn good sister."

*Click* The two of them turned to the door as it opened, showing Shinji with a headband of his own in his hands.

"I passed," he gave them both a small smile, "should we wait for Naruto? He's right after me."

* * *

 **Sarutobi Clan Compound**

Asuka stretched as she leaned on the counter, a manga held in one hand, at the kitchen while a pressure cooker sat on the stove. Times like these she wished she was in her old world, she was a little bored cooking dinner alone and there was no TV to watch or portable video game to play, thank Gott this world at least had manga for her to read.

Then she heard the door open.

"That you Rei?" she shouted.

"Yes," came the reply before she heard the door close and the rustle of plastic bags and soon enough Rei walked into the kitchen in her yukata with a pair of plastic bags.

"Thanks for picking those up," Asuka put down her manga and kicked off the counter to take the groceries from Rei so the bluenette could wash her hands. "Can't believe I forgot we ran out of these…" she murmured to herself as she put the bottles of sauces and containers of various spices away.

"It's understandable," Rei replied quietly. Rei knew the reason why Asuka forgot that she needed to buy some things after their graduation test for the 'Grand Feast' she had proclaimed she was going to treat them to to celebrate their graduation into the shinobi lifestyle, even if the test was found lacking in their eyes.

The reason she forgot was because she was angry, no, _furious._ After Shinji had passed the test they had decided to wait for Naruto. While they hadn't really trained with him they had taught him some things, mostly the basics like first aid, how to use a kunai and how to throw a proper punch. Still they had gotten a basic view on what he could do and they knew Naruto could do most of the jutsu the Academy taught. He was quite good at the Transformation Jutsu, and the stupid 'Sexy Jutsu' variant he invented, as well as the Substitution Jutsu but he was utter crap at the Clone Jutsu, the one that was chosen to be tested this year. And he had failed the test. Obviously they were sad for him, the trio kind of viewed Naruto as a sometimes annoying and always loud little brother and they sympathized with his lonely upbringing.

He was, after all, the host of the Kyuubi whose rampage caused deaths still felt by some.

It still didn't excuse the hate directed at him in their opinion and the parents who stayed around after school ended who talked in hushed tones about 'not being surprised' that the 'cursed child' didn't pass. Some even sounded happy, like the kid deserved it. That made Asuka grit her teeth at the sheer _ignorance_ of the _civilian_ adults, the children with shinobi parents having already left. It made Asuka want to snap some necks, even the more calm Shinji and Rei were seething but were busy trying to keep Asuka from trying to kill someone.

' _Talking about shinobi life like they're experts when they're too cowardly to pick up a blade themselves,'_ she scoffed as she washed her hands after putting everything away, _'I'd like them to say that to Blondie's face, fucking cowards.'_

Rei took a deep breath as Asuka seethed beside her, the girl's anger flowing through their bond like a raging river and she was reminded for the first time in a while how Asuka's temperament could be overwhelming to someone like herself. Rei had to admit, feeling emotions not wholly yours running through your head, a rage that was without purpose was...and an odd feeling. She felt her heart quicken, blood pumping through her veins faster, her body preparing to fight a fight she had no intention of starting. The former First Child knew she was more sensitive to the bond than her fellows, she guessed it was due to her nature as being a fragment of Lilith but it really was something else to feel some of the intense emotions coming off of either Asuka or Shinji, Asuka more often than not of course. She wondered what she could do to help Asuka calm down, _'Shinji would know what to do…'_

Then she remembered something…

"Where is Shinji-kun?"

"Third is out, Yugao-nee wanted to give something to him. You know how she is with the Baka."

Rei nodded at that, the ANBU Captain was closer to Shinji, it wasn't exactly a secret.

"I see…"

Asuka frowned, Rei almost never faded off unless she was thinking over something, she was a precise person like that. "Something wrong Rei?"

"Yes," Rei nodded and turned to Asuka, a small frown on her face. "On my way home I sensed Mizuki-sensei together with Naruto-kun."

"That's odd," Asuka frowned as she turned the stove off, dinner done cooking. She put her hand on her chin as she looked at Rei, "they weren't close were they?" Rei shook her headed in the negative. "Yeah figured that much…"

Rei blinked at that, _'she is that attentive of others outside our group? Surprising.'_

"…Why did I have a feeling you just thought something rude?"

"I have not."

"…Uh-huh, damn can't tell if you're serious or that's your poker face." Asuka shook her head, "anyway that's suspicious, I never liked Mizuki-sensei anyway."

Rei nodded, "his smiles and kindness are always fake." She should know, she had seen plenty of those faces from the people at NERV who had no idea how to interact with her, she was quite good at seeing them. She had told the others of that of course and as a result none of them liked their other teacher very much, trusting her word.

"Did you sense anything else?"

"His chakra felt…" she trailed off, recalling the feeling she had when she had managed to observe the two from a distance where she knew she wouldn't be detected, sadly she couldn't hear them either, "malicious."

"…Little vague but _not_ a good sign."

"…Sorry Asuka."

Asuka sighed and gave Rei a quick hug, missing the small blush on Rei's cheeks as she didn't know how to react.

"Don't apologize Rei, you did the best you can," Asuka tried to reassure Rei, not knowing if it was working. This was Shinji's realm of expertise, the big marshmallow, she just hoped it didn't come off as awkward and forced to Rei as it did to her. Rei was surprisingly fragile Asuka found out in that she got discouraged by 'failures' easily and while she knew she was prone to that too Rei's definition of the word was a little too broad in her opinion. A part of her wondered if Rei picked that up during Third Impact from Shinji, gods she hoped not.

"T-Thank you, Asuka…"

Asuka was about to respond with a 'you're welcome' but the sound of two body flickers behind them caused them to break apart and turn around to see two of their ANBU security detail.

One of them stepped forward and spoke, "You've all been called by the Hokage-sama."

The two girls looked at each other, their brains going straight to the worst case scenario.

"Is Shinji ok?" Asuka asked for them both.

"Shinji-sama is fine, he will meet you both at the Hokage's office and please bring all of your equipment, Shinji-sama's as well."

* * *

 **Hokage's Office**

"Any idea what could have caused this to happen Shinji-kun?" the Hokage asked, his pipe in one hand, and exhaled a puff of smoke as he sat behind his dask. Aross from him sat Shinji, who was looking down in thought, a frown on his face. Times like these he really was glad, more so than usual, that he had adopted Shinji's group since it gave him a much more direct idea on arguably the most important of Konoha's youth.

The host of the Kyuubi.

"No not really. He failed the graduation test but…" Shinji trailed off.

"Stealing a scroll isn't going to fix that."

"Exactly, even if some people think he is Naruto isn't stupid, an idiot yes but not stupid."

The Hokage blinked at that and raised a brow, "is there a difference?"

"Asuka said people who do dumb things but realize its dumb are idiots. People who act dumb and never realise are stupid," he said with a small smile.

"Haha," the older man chuckled, that did sound like one of his two daughter-in-laws…boy that was an odd thought but he supposed he _was_ getting on in his years. Maybe that was just how the young were now?

"Naruto likes to cause trouble but he wouldn't do something like this, even he should know that this is serious. So the question is _why_ would he?," Shinji replied before the door clicked open and in walked Asuka and Rei kitted out with their gear and ready for combat, their Konoha headbands around their necks. Asuka's had been changed for a red one while Rei's was the standard blue, liking how it matched the light blue of her Yukata. They also had Shinji's katana with him, the sheathed blade held in Rei's hands.

"Hokage-sama," Rei gave a respectful bow.

Shinji made to stand, there was only one seat and he felt bad for taking it from one of the girls but Asuka just put her hands on his shoulders from behind and pushed him back down, eliciting a surprised squawk.

"I'm no princess," Asuka commented, "first come first serve and all that."

Shinji then turned to Rei who just shook her head.

"What's that?" Asuka asked as she saw the Konoha headband tied around Shinji's left sleeve like a bandanna. It didn't look brand new at all, the metal plate covered in light scratches while the cloth band was black.

"Oh this?" Shinji replied, "um...Yugao-nee wanted to give it to me."

"Shinji...are you cheating on me and Rei for your favorite sensei?"

"What?!" Shinji waved his hands in front of him, "NO! Of course not! I would never!"

"...I think she was joking," Rei remarked and Shinji pouted at Asuka who ignored him, having already gotten her amusement.

So," Asuka crossed her arms, "what happened?"

Rei then handed the sword to Shinji who gratefully accepted it and he couldn't help but smile as he held the sword in his hands. He had sworn to continue using the ninjato Yugao gave him as his everyday carry until he became a proper shinobi and now he was one wasn't he? The sword's name was Yunagi, meaning 'evening calm', and was forged by himself (with some help) and named by Rei since all of Asuka's name suggestions were German, to no one's surprise.

Shinji carefully unsheathed the blade as the Hokage filled in Rei and Asuka on the situation. Yunagi is a non-standard katana with a slightly straighter curve to the blade to give the cut-centric design a better performance in the thrust. At 75 centimetres she was also slightly longer than the longest standard katana and he had also sharpened the normally dull reverse edge for the last 5 centimetres to the tip for more piercing power. Other than those modifications Yunagi was a standard sword of the style with a circular guard made of steel with two feather's engraved on either side of the blade, one inset with blue and the other with red enamel while black leather was wrapped around the ray skin covered hilt which was capped with a steel pommel.

He turned the blade slightly, the blade catching the light in a way that allowed him to see the uncountable layers in the blade formed by folding the steel hundreds of times. Satisfied and hearing the Hokage finishing his recounting he returned Yunagi to its scabbard made of wood and covered in black metal to protect it whenever he used it for blocking or deflecting attacks.

"Rei," Asuka said as Yunagi was sheathed with a click, "tell everyone what you told me."

And so she told the Hokage and Shinji about Mizuki and Naruto.

"That's troubling," the Hokage rubbed his chin, "Mizuki has already come into suspicion in the past so we've held back his career since we have no proof."

"Naruto-kun is naïve," Rei frowned, "Mizuki-sensei tricking him is…not unlikely."

"Anyone who knows him," Shinji started, "will know Naruto wants to be a shinobi more than anything."

"Exactly," the Hokage nodded before standing up with a serious face. Shinji stood up straight, Asuka and Rei also doing so at his side, the three could read the mood.

"As of this moment I am issuing you three a mission. You primary objective: retrieve Naruto Uzumaki while the scroll retrieval will be your secondary objective. You are not to engage Mizuki unless necessary. This mission will be considered Rank C. Do you accept?"

The three children looked at each other before Asuka and Rei turned their gaze to Shinji who blinked before nodding, realizing what they meant and clipped Yunagi onto his belt before turning to the Hokage.

"We accept, Hokage-sama."

* * *

"Hm," the Hokage sat back into his seat after the children left. "Cat."

At his call six ANBU operatives clad in full gear appeared out of the shadows, kneeling before their lord. The small elite squad of six, Cat also known as Yugao now at its head, waited silently for their orders. She was concerned for the children she viewed as her own family but kept her piece, waiting for her mission, she would just have to hope all the training was enough.

"Cat, Mouse," the Hokage started, "I want you two to trail the children just in case they encounter Mizuki. Don't show yourselves unless necessary, this will be a good chance to test Naruto's character if he did steal the scroll due to some lie Mizuki told him. While I do trust Shinji and the children's assessment," he said the last part knowing he might have offended a certain member of the team, "I do want to see it for myself. This is the first real test to his character. Hopefully Shinji, Rei and Asuka have kept him mentally sound with their friendship...the villagers certainly haven't help. I also see what the…specialized training the three had received has produced."

"Yes Hokage-sama," came Cat's reply.

It was no secret to him the children received as much training as those born in the village's greatest shinobi clans like the Hyuga except the children's education was more broad as there was no clan ability to focus on. A below average Chunin should serve as a good test for all four children and if Naruto performed well he could easily pull strings to get him to pass. He also hoped having an ANBU report on Naruto and the three kids in their favour would support his insistence that Naruto be raised like any other villager instead of being confined to the village and get the Sarutobi clan council to shut up for a while.

"Dragon I know it's your last day before retirement but I want you to take Hawk to search the village for Mizuki if he's still here."

"And if we find him, Hokage-sama?" Dragon asked.

"Try to bring him in alive."

"Understood."

"Hm," the Hokage nodded, "dismissed!"

And with that four of the six ANBU operatives flickered out of the room, the other two blending back into the shadows.

 **Next - V1 Chapter 3: Blowing Up Sensei**

By the way, to those wanting scenes with Rei being badass then don't worry, you'll get that next chapter!

This was an interesting chapter to write in that its the first showing canonical Naruto events. I actually reread the relevant chapter for this. That said I didn't want to just copy and paste it so we only really got the scene with the Hkage monument and Naruto getting Shinji to actually snap and the scene with the scroll which we will be seeing the end of in the next scene.

Nothing really to say here but this was a bit of a tricky chapter to write as I wanted to display a few things. One is the fact that Asuka and Rei also have to sacrifice something due to Shinji's adoption to the Sarotobi clan. The other is the effect that Asuka has on Rei and Shinji and that Shinji has on Asuka. We've already seen that Asuka is more mellow this time around so I also wanted to show Shinji's...uh softness rubbing off on her while at the same time showing that she's rubbed off a bit on Shinji and Rei as well.

That said I just couldn't really see Rei picking up a temper so Shinji kinda has while Rei has picked up a bit of the part of Asuka does a bit on the sadistic side.

It was a fun chapter to write as well since I got to think up their outfits. I wanted to make Asuka and Rei opposites in that regard, just like how they are opposites of each other. I wanted to show that with more than just colour too. Asuka likes to show skin and show off her body while Rei is more conservative, not showing nearly as much skin, preferring to dress more elegantly.

Also any Negima fans? Shinji's sword Yunagi is named after the sword Setsuna uses in the series if anyone is wondering where the name came from.

Anyway see you all next time!


End file.
